As Twitchy reported earlier this month, the Associated Press Stylebook issued new guidance that from now on, reporters would capitalize Black when referring to people but continue to lowercase white, in part because white people generally do not share the same history and culture — even though corporate- and government-sponsored anti-racism training, much like the website of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture, manages to distill “whiteness” into a handy chart. So is white culture a thing or isn’t it?
Plus, white supremacists apparently insist on capitalizing white, so lowercasing it avoids “subtly conveying legitimacy” to white supremacy.
As we mentioned earlier Wednesday, the AP is still trying to explain why Black is capitalized and white is not, but it looks like the Washington Post is going with its own style in which White is capitalized as well, although the first tweet doesn’t show that.
Starting now, the @washingtonpost will uppercase the B in Black to identify the many groups that make up the African diaspora in America and elsewhere.
The Post will also use other racial and ethnic identifiers as follows (per company email): pic.twitter.com/D9FQUKc4vi
— Rachel Leah Siegel (@rachsieg) July 29, 2020
They even managed to get the gender-neutral “Latinx” in there “if someone identifies that way.”
"The use of Black is a recognition & acknowledgment not only of the cultural bonds & historical experiences shared by people of African heritage, but also the shared struggles of descendants of enslaved people, families who immigrated generations ago & more recent immigrants."
— Rachel Leah Siegel (@rachsieg) July 29, 2020
Again, this seems like a massive stretch: Universities have been complaining about the white male “canon” dominating the college curriculum for ages now, but suddenly whites don’t have common cultural bonds or historical experiences? Then what have they been teaching in classics departments?
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In a follow-up tweet, though, the Washington Post’s Karen Attiah said her paper will be capitalizing white as well.
The @washingtonpost will also capitalize the “W” in White, citing that “White is a distinct cultural identity in the United States…” and is a “collective group that has had its own cultural and historical impact on the nation.” https://t.co/k5d57qK1fD
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) July 29, 2020
Someone put together a GIF of the AP and the Washington Post duking it out over whether whites are a collective group or not. Grammar can get pretty messy now and then.
"Separately, we will limit the uppercase version of the racial categorization Brown …Although the term has gained general acceptance, the designation is seen by many as a catchall to describe people of color of vastly diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds who are not Black."
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) July 29, 2020
Yeah, the AP wasn’t down with brown, either, though activists surely have adopted it.
"Separately, political terms used to promote racist ideologies or to advocate ethnic superiority or separation should remain lowercase (i.e. white supremacist, black nationalist)."
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) July 29, 2020
We’re guessing following those rules it would be Black power but white power.
Jennifer Rubin wanted to let the boss know she approves.
Reason #9999999 why the Post gets it when others do not
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) July 29, 2020
It's true. All people of European descent have the same exact cultural background and experiences that can be lumped into "white." #eyeroll
— Social Distance Champion (@realchrishynes) July 29, 2020
— Eddie Zipperer (@EddieZipperer) July 29, 2020
I really don't think that a Palestinian American, an Eastern European Jew, a working class Greek New Yorker, a Quaker, and the descendent of white Southern plantation owners all have one distinct cultural identity.
— Molly Crabapple?? (@mollycrabapple) July 29, 2020
I agree. I also don't think an upper-class immigrant from Nigeria, a refugee from South Sudan, a middle-class Black immigrant from Brazil, and a descendant of enslaved Americans have one cultural identity.
— Chris C. Martin (@Chrismartin76) July 29, 2020
It’s not like it’s any big secret why the AP suddenly had a change of heart and is working backward to explain it.
Sending email to WP senior staff to ask if I'm a lesbian or Lesbian
— chelsea barnard (@chelseabarnard) July 29, 2020
Related:
AP Stylebook explains why decision to use lowercase for ‘white’ was ‘more complicated’ than choice to capitalize ‘Black’ https://t.co/b3UuYQAug0
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) July 29, 2020
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