# Why capitalize "Black"? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 1, 2023, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455 "2023-01-01T09:50:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/101 "2023-01-01T23:32:17Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I wonder how I might do that? Perhaps I could have said something like, um… …are you open to the possibility that things actually haven’t changed, just that you were blissfully ignorant and completely wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/102 "2023-01-01T23:32:25Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > This was always a racist bait thread and it was started in the pit and I’ve got every fucking right to be angry about it. Well, the important thing is that this thread is now about you. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/103 "2023-01-01T23:33:02Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Well, the important thing is that this thread is now about you. …oh grow the fuck up. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2023, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/104 "2023-01-01T23:46:00Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > I only recall hearing it used (US English) twice, both times to refer to Latinos, with very different contexts: Here in Chicago, I hear both references to Black and Brown communities fairly regularly. Just looking through my Facebook friends posts, I see this: > As a Black Woman who’s father is an immigrant I fight for the rights of all marginalized groups. I’ve marched with, voted for, and donated to causes that help all my Brown brothers and sisters get the rights they deserve. I show up and show out for these causes and I hope you show up for us as well. and this: > On 26th Street in Little Village trying to [#IncreaseThePeace](https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/increasethepeace? __eep__ =6& __cft__ %5B0%5D=AZWIRNYQEFfBeaM_e0SV4v593XGOEsXFcvWziS06jgZH3CbffhxAW1ug_Ycs9W3vsNt9dSMw-yMmAUHIYaBLuRh1hSbBZDi853nYtEi1YN0OtycH1p0STnUSbwYkqBF238qdcBG0J3vkEXHSkS-gpBKjLjeqN3CSG1AV4NDckZvCfg& __tn__ =*NK-y-R) and promote Black & Brown Unity! and this: > Brown PPL for BLACK POWER. > Little village, chicago and this: > Anna M López and I will be on [WBEZ](https://www.facebook.com/wbez915/? __cft__ %5B0%5D=AZUdqMiSJgZGoMiwXsaWcKiPcTR01mv0WdFl5Xp8lrLmGyIn0iWXR_fjUk54anuFPtKlGFnT26L2MDcBBJE8e48dHMy2a206Ua112LZPcnlx4UATB3e7lRxmIhaXBFkv1bo4j2MFZqaChmN0R75ki4obpAgcmok_T7MxPw0tb-gVYw& __tn__ =kK-y-R), Chicago’s NPR station talkin bout our FB group; [VACCINATE ABUELA CHICAGO](https://www.facebook.com/groups/168244764853481/? __cft__ %5B0%5D=AZUdqMiSJgZGoMiwXsaWcKiPcTR01mv0WdFl5Xp8lrLmGyIn0iWXR_fjUk54anuFPtKlGFnT26L2MDcBBJE8e48dHMy2a206Ua112LZPcnlx4UATB3e7lRxmIhaXBFkv1bo4j2MFZqaChmN0R75ki4obpAgcmok_T7MxPw0tb-gVYw& __tn__ =-UK-y-R) and taking care of our Black & Brown elders! Tune in between 8:30am-9am CST! And so on and so forth. And used in casual speech. And used by South Asians and Middle Easterners. It’s a perfectly normal descriptor/identifier to me, at least at my little corner of the US, although also have heard it from South Asians/Middle Easterners from Toronto. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/105 "2023-01-02T00:19:43Z")
My local newspaper never did that, until Kamala Harris got the Veep nomination. I’m not the only person who noticed this. BTW, there are some cases of newspapers autocorrecting the word “black” to “African American,” when it was not contextually appropriate, and of course, on a related note, this bizarre gaffe. Mr. Gay, who is heterosexual, actually thought it was funny. > **[News site calls runner 'homosexual' because his name is Gay](https://www.haaretz.com/2010-01-20/ty-article/news-site-calls-runner-homosexual-because-his-name-is-gay/0000017f-e697-dc7e-adff-f6bfda6f0000)** > > OneNewsNow.com operates an automatic filter to change words that 'do not suit' its ideological line. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/106 "2023-01-02T00:38:46Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > …I have heard lots of unironic references to “brown people” as an unironic umbrella term for people who have been subject to racism against non-whites. I think it might be on the same trajectory that “queer” went through, from ironically “reclaiming” a slur, to being a useful catch-all term for allied groups with similar, but not identical, civil rights concerns. Although I thought the tweet that @MrDibble posted fit the kind of ironic usage that I was familiar with, it’s obvious from some of the other links that have subsequently been posted that you are quite correct about this (including in the U.K.) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/107 "2023-01-02T00:47:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Here in Chicago, I hear both references to Black and Brown communities fairly regularly. Interesting, thanks! I lived for several years in Mexico, and have continuing professional and personal experiences and connections with US Latino communities, so it’s odd I’ve missed this. Maybe I just never noticed what was there all along (I’ll keep an eye out for it from now on), or maybe by chance it’s not used among the folks I’ve interacted with. I just asked my wife (of South Asian origins), and she surprised me by saying she _has_ heard “brown” (or “Brown”) used for the Indian-American “community,” such as it is. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/108 "2023-01-02T00:50:56Z")
I’ve seen it on billboards, as well, not just Facebook posts, but it seems to show up most often in the community activism circles, and NPR. But, as I said, I do hear it in casual speech as well. I work a lot in the South Asian community, so, like I said, I also hear it there, and there definitely is a strong South Asian community (or communities) here in the Chicago area. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/109 "2023-01-02T00:51:29Z")
Cool. One excuse for me is that the “casual speech” would likely be conducted in Spanish. 🙂 (Many would say _la raza_, or _mi gente_…) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/110 "2023-01-02T01:01:05Z")
For example, a mural on the South Side: [![](https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/107018601_3064177533635646_6744071921873663085_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=a26aad&_nc_ohc=M_0HOWiZxC4AX8qqREl&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-2.xx&oh=00_AfDjiMUYNzhMyW8d2flx0UI9Qq8EhBBCwGlB9to-Alvb3g&oe=63D9A9BC) ](https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/107018601_3064177533635646_6744071921873663085_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=a26aad&_nc_ohc=M_0HOWiZxC4AX8qqREl&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-2.xx&oh=00_AfDjiMUYNzhMyW8d2flx0UI9Qq8EhBBCwGlB9to-Alvb3g&oe=63D9A9BC) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/111 "2023-01-02T01:46:54Z")
I’ll be darned. And I’ve lived there, too! (Not for 30 years). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/112 "2023-01-02T02:23:50Z")
I feel the terminology or at least the more mainstream nature of it is somewhat recent, like the last decade or two, but I couldn’t say for certain. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/113 "2023-01-02T02:28:05Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I go back and forth between white and White. I’m curious for arguments either way. My own feeling is that I’m very uncomfortable with a capitalized White. It seems to affirm the claims of white supremacists that there is a white ethnicity that has a white culture and should be afforded the recognition and deference that other ethnicities get. Now, Black _is_ definitely an ethnicity in the United States, mostly because of a history of systematic racism. But, White … nooooo … I’m not comfortable recognizing that as a single ethnicity. It’s a race, because we live in a society based on the racist notion of the existence of a white race, but it’s not an ethnicity. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/114 "2023-01-02T02:36:29Z")
I agree that I would never choose to identify myself a White person with a capital W without context; but it seems perfectly correct to say that I am a beneficiary of White privilege, or to talk about what it means to be non-White. I guess it’s the difference between acknowledging the existence of something as opposed to “affirming” it as a virtue. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/115 "2023-01-02T03:33:13Z")
I’m not sure that a Somali immigrant, a black physician from Vermont, and a black fisherman from Louisiana have more in common than two random white folks from let’s say North Dakota. Reducing the culture of a people to skin color seems bigoted. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/116 "2023-01-02T03:38:05Z")
Yes, America’s history of systemic racism based on skin color is indeed bigoted. Good job. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/117 "2023-01-02T03:40:10Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > a Somali immigrant, a black physician from Vermont, and a black fisherman from Louisiana Are these some of your best friends? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/118 "2023-01-02T03:43:14Z")
None of them are actually. But if they were, I wouldn’t be treating them as if their skin color was their defining feature nor would I reduce them to a caricature in order to virtue signal in response to the death of George Floyd or the unrest that followed. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/119 "2023-01-02T03:44:36Z")
Good thing nobody here was suggesting that. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2023, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455/120 "2023-01-02T03:44:57Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > None of them are actually. You met them but you don’t like them? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-capitalize-black/977455.md?page=7)