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AI Overview
Yes,
The New York Times capitalizes the "B" in "Black" to refer to people and cultures of African origin, but it keeps "white" lowercase. The decision stems from the belief that "Black" refers to a people and a culture, not just a color, while "white" does not carry the same cultural or ethnic significance as a collective identity in the same context.
Why The New York Times Capitalizes "Black"
The Times made the change in 2020 to recognize Black people as a distinct cultural and ethnic group, distinguishing the term from the color black.
The capitalization of "Black" is a response to a history of racial oppression, where the term was used to demean and dehumanize, and it now serves as a form of respect and recognition for a shared heritage and identity.
The Times' style guides align with other news organizations and style manuals that also capitalize Black.
Why "White" Remains Lowercase
According to
The New York Times Company and The Associated Press, there isn't a comparable collective cultural identity or history of systemic oppression that makes "white" a relevant term of cultural identity in the same way that "Black" is.
Keeping "white" lowercase can be seen as a way of not conferring the same cultural and ethnic weight to the term, as whiteness has historically been the default and has not been the subject of the same kind of systemic disadvantage.
Key Takeaway
The distinction between capitalizing "Black" and not capitalizing "white" reflects the different historical and cultural contexts of the two terms. The change at The New York Times was a deliberate choice to honor a people's identity and history, not simply a random choice of capitalization
