Note to readers: Why we’re capitalizing the word ‘Black’

Effective immediately, McClatchy’s four papers in Washington state will capitalize the word “Black” when referring to a culture, ethnicity or group of people.

Capitalizing Black puts the word on equal footing with other capitalized descriptors of people and culture, such as Native American, Irish American and Latino. It is a reflection of shared culture and experiences.

Other news organizations have already made this change. The Los Angeles Times, the Seattle Times, USA TODAY, BuzzFeed and others have listened to Black readers and employees, as we have and on the recommendation of the National Association of Black Journalists.

For now, we will not be capitalizing “white” when referring to white people. White is a description of skin color, and when ethnicity is relevant to the story, we will ask the source his/her ethnicity (of Italian descent, Russian heritage, etc.).

There is no change to the following policy in our stylebook: We do not include the race of someone in custody or of a crime victim unless the person’s race is clearly relevant. For example, in the case of a suspected hate crime that police believe is motivated by race, the races of the suspect and victim would be relevant.

This is not the first nor do we anticipate that it’s the last conversation we’ll have with respect to our style.

George Floyd’s brutal death ignited weeks of protests in every American city, including here in Washington. While the crisis is national, change happens here, at the local level. We hope to continue the conversation with you about where we go next.

Thanks to those who shared your thoughts in a constructive and collaborative way, both in the newsroom and in our community. We look forward to doing the work that must happen for these important conversations to continue openly and candidly.

Lauren Gustus is West Region Editor for McClatchy, which has newspapers in Tacoma, Olympia, Bellingham and the Tri-Cities.