If you’ve noticed that news articles recently began capitalizing the word Black, here’s a bit of background. The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook provides guidelines on capitalization, terms, punctuation and more. Most news outlets follow AP style guidelines, as does Mosaic Marketing when we’re writing a press release or ghost writing an article for a client. On June 19, AP announced the decision to “capitalize Black in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, conveying an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa. The lowercase black is a color, not a person.”
This capitalization may seem like a small step in our country’s quest to embrace diversity and inclusion. However, it’s thoughtful actions like this one that help achieve real, systemic change. We applaud AP’s decision and continue to look for ways for our company to be an active participant in the pursuit of equity for all.