Words, like Black lives, matter. It’s Black, with a capital B. And it’s long past time for media and publishing organizations to listen to the nation and #capitalizeBlack. https://brook.gs/2BbbHAn 

To #capitalizeBlack, like the call to capitalize Negro a century ago by @NAACP co-founder W.E.B. Du Bois, is a simple way to demonstrate a sliver of respect for Black Americans, as they continue to give voice to a history and modern reality of injustice and lack of respect.

Why should we #capitalizeBlack? It’s simple, but vital, as Kimberlé Crenshaw @sandylocks + @LoriTharps + so many many others have explained for decades. Black people have a common cultural identity of history, art, community, and shared experiences.

Additionally, most Black Americans lack a specific geographic identity, as they are unable to conclusively trace roots back to a specific country of origin due to enslavement. That lack of shared geography is actually part of what binds Black people together. #capitalizeBlack

And while “African American” is a fine terminology choice, it is sometimes considered inadequately representative by Black Americans with recent Caribbean or British lineage, for example, or those who have recently emigrated to the United States from Africa. #capitalizeBlack

Notably, the @APStylebook, the most closely followed reference book for media and businesses, is missing from the long list of media organizations who have updated their policies to recognize Black Americans with a capital B. It’s time for that change. #capitalizeBlack

Which national media outlets #capitalizeBlack, as the National Association of Black Journalists ( @NABJ) has called for? Plenty. @NBCNews @MSNBC @TIME @USATODAY @BuzzFeedNews @businessinsider @HuffPost @mcclatchy

Which local media outlets #capitalizeBlack? Also plenty. @seattletimes @BostonGlobe @latimes @Suntimes @PhillyTrib @metrotimes @sdut @sacbee_news

And thanks to our friends to the north who have understood why we should #capitalizeBlack! @CanadianPress @TorontoStar @globeandmail @CBCNews

Check your inbox and you’ll see companies using the capital B for Black in their responses to the nation’s protests: @Nike @Netflix @Disney @Apple @amazon @Google @McDonalds @Starbucks @Target @Macys @Spotify @hulu @HBO @lyft @Uber @TeamUSA @MLB @MLS #capitalizeBlack

Momentum, comprehension, and history clearly support the update to #capitalizeBlack. Some, however, will undoubtedly ask, “But what about capitalizing white?” They will argue that if one racial term deserves capitalization, another should too.

That thinking is, at best, a false equivalence between different issues. At worst, it’s a deliberate excuse to not address racial injustice, just as “but what about Black on Black crime?” or “but what about looting?” distract from attention to systemic racism. #capitalizeBlack

Complementary assessments of whether other racial or ethnic terminologies should be updated are unquestionably encouraged. However, grammarians’ squabbles over parity cannot tip the scales away from taking action to formally recognize Black people. #capitalizeBlack

The call is out for other prominent media and publishing organizations to join in capitalizing Black so that, together, we can demonstrate for the @APStylebook and other standard bearers that this change is long overdue and ought to be formalized. #capitalizeBlack

While word choice doesn’t absolve racial injustices that Black Americans have experienced and continue to experience, this change is one of many changes that are long past due. Words, like Black lives, matter. It’s Black, with a capital B. https://brook.gs/2BbbHAn  #capitalizeBlack