Newspaper Falls In Line With Black Press Use Of Inclusive Terms

The Seattle Times news publication FINALLY got with the program.

Gone are the days of us being referred to as “negroes” or “coloreds” haphazardly in the press. Can you guess which name they’re now using to identify members of the African Diaspora?

Black, of course! It’s now officially standard practice (per the Times’ style guide) that when any writer moves to address our people as a group, culture, or ethnicity they’ll be sure it’s with a capital ‘B’ as a measure of intentional respect. 

Here’s why that’s important...

For so long, use of dehumanizing terms meant to degrade made adoption of the term “African-American” seem admirable and ambitious! But that was before a priority was placed on elevating the experiences and viewpoints of not just American-born members of the Diaspora, but those of other backgrounds as well.

Therefore, the use of capitalized ‘Black’ establishes a respectful and informed tone and emphasizes inclusivity. This should be a priority for all outlets who want to get the facts straight.

To be clear, the Seattle Times didn’t ORIGINATE this editorial standard by any means.

Publications like PushBlack have been doing this for many years now. 

But in the interest of emphasizing how things OUGHT to be, the Seattle Times clearly took note that the Black press’ position is one to model its content after!