{"id":25853,"date":"2020-06-15T18:30:37","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T23:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=25853"},"modified":"2020-06-15T18:51:49","modified_gmt":"2020-06-15T23:51:49","slug":"sun-times-joins-move-spell-black-brown-capital-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2020\/06\/15\/sun-times-joins-move-spell-black-brown-capital-b\/","title":{"rendered":"Sun-Times joins move to spell \u2018Black\u2019 and \u2018Brown\u2019 with capital B"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

<\/a> Chicago Sun-Times<\/p><\/div>\n

The Chicago Sun-Times<\/a> became the latest news organization to revise its style guide Monday by capitalizing the words \u201cBlack\u201d and \u201cBrown\u201d when referring to \u201ca culture, ethnicity or community of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The style change, announced in an email to staff, follows similar moves by The Los Angeles Times, The USA TODAY Network, BuzzFeed News, NBC News, MSNBC and others.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Chris Fusco<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cOur decision to capitalize Black is an acknowledgment of the longstanding inequities that have existed in our country, and the unique role that Black art and culture have played in our society,\u201d Chris Fusco, executive editor of the Sun-Times, said in a statement. \"Cultural trends among white people, e.g. Italian Americans, Irish Americans, etc., are more disparate, hence our decision not to capitalize white.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe're hopeful our readers will understand \u2014 and appreciate \u2014 this distinction.\"<\/p>\n

In an open letter last week, Sarah Glover, manager of social strategy at NBC Owned Television Stations and former president of the National Association of Black Journalists, called on The Associated Press to update its style guide, widely regarded as the industry standard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is momentous change across America that we are bearing witness to. Don\u2019t let change pass us by,\u201d Glover wrote. \u201cJournalism and media companies must have a reckoning with themselves, reflect upon their own practices and also shatter systemic racism that exists within the mighty bowels of the free press.<\/p>\n

\"Capitalizing the \u2018B\u2019 in Black to describe people and the community is a fitting first step.\"<\/p>\n

Here is the text of Fusco\u2019s email to staff:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In recent weeks, readers and employees have inquired about our use of AP Style \u2014 black with a lowercase \u201cb\u201d \u2014 when referring to African Americans, people of Caribbean descent and people of African origin.<\/em><\/p>\n

After\u00a0listening to people both inside and outside our newsroom, we are making the following style guidelines and changes, effective immediately:<\/em><\/p>\n