The Chicago Manual of Style passively, equivocally advocates capitalizing “Black”

The Chicago Manual of Style passively, equivocally advocates capitalizing “Black”

ByJosh Bernoff

The AP Stylebook recently endorsed capitalizing “Black” when referring to the racial or ethnic group. Now the other major stylebook, the Chicago Manual of Style, has joined in. But the CMoS announcement is hardly a masterpiece of clarity. Yes. I’m about to critique the style of a book on style. Of course I am. What’s…

Why you should capitalize Black as a proper adjective

Why you should capitalize Black as a proper adjective

ByJosh Bernoff

In the past, I didn’t capitalize “Black” in text, when referring to a group of people. Now I will. The question of why it’s a proper adjective (derived from a proper noun) is worth discussing. A number of publications have made the switch from “black” to “Black” when referring to people (as opposed to just…