Why isn't the word "white" capitalized when referring to the race? [duplicate]
Solution 1:
One explanation for the discrepancy is offered by Nell Irvin Painter in their opinion piece for the Washington Post
These two identities don’t simply mirror each other — one works through a pronounced group identity [Black]; the other more often is lived as unraced individuality [white]. However much you might see yourself as an individual, if you’re black, you also have to contend with other people’s views. W.E.B. Du Bois summed this up as “twoness,” as seeing yourself as yourself but also knowing that other people see you as a black person. You don’t have to be a black nationalist to see yourself as black.
In contrast, until quite recently white Americans rarely saw themselves as raced — as white. Most of them, anyway. The people who have embraced “white” as a racial identity have been white nationalists, Ku Klux Klansmen and their ilk.
In July 20 2020 the following statement was released [emphasis in bold mine.]
NEW YORK (AP) — After changing its usage rules last month to capitalize the word “Black” when used in the context of race and culture, The Associated Press on Monday said it would not do the same for “white.”
The AP said white people in general have much less shared history and culture, and don’t have the experience of being discriminated against because of skin color. […]
CBS News said it would capitalize white, although not when referring to white supremacists, white nationalists or white privilege.Some proponents believe that keeping white lowercase is actually anti-Black, saying it perpetuates the idea that whites are the default race.