Capitalizing adjectives that define colors

[Seagull]

Since we are in theme of discussing instructors grades influenced by their own bias, I noticed a trend that I wasn't aware of and thought it was a typo until recently the ny times made note of why they are doing it. 

Some adjectives defining colors are capitalized, while others aren't.
And it has become more and more common.

But the question is since lots of auto correction programs like ms word and turnitin are not updated on this trend, those who capitalize adjectives are going to see it as an error.
And those students who refuse to capitalize one color over another because they believe in equality will have their grade affected by it.

Is all this a type of orwellian newspeak?

I guess we all have to do our best, ...I mean our plusgood.

Not wanting to start a big debate but I feel this will become a problem when writing papers once the change reaches academia.

[ss20ts]

What adjectives are capitalized in the middle of a sentence? I can't think of any.

[Seagull]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/insid...black.html

[ss20ts]

This change in journalism for groups of people. The word isn't being used as an adjective.

[Supermind]

During my recent MS-Psychology program at Walden, I was made aware of this usage of capitalization for Black & White. You capitalize only when the colors are referring to groups of people, and not when referring to colors. So, for example, one is expected to write as:

They are Black/White.
It is black/white.

I think MS-Word has already been updated to reflect this change.

[Seagull]

During my recent MS-Psychology program at Walden, I was made aware of this usage of capitalization for Black & White. You capitalize only when the colors are referring to groups of people, and not when referring to colors. So, for example, one is expected to write as:

They are Black/White.
It is black/white.

I think MS-Word has already been updated to reflect this change.

True, although I am seeing more and more media articles misusing it. Plus the word white has not been allowed to be capitalized, IIRC the ny times article mentions that.

But still it is going to divide people even more since those who want to use grammar correctly will be criticized while their intent is proper use of grammar and not racism.

At this moment the change has been decided by a group of journalists that have an interest in doing so because of their skin color. Wasn't aware ms word is already updated on this.

I am just afraid of further divisions and another way for the liberal media to put a wedge between various groups.
Especially since a color is not a culture or an ethnicity. And this is true for any color.

Our country needs to heal and this is not a good way to do so.

[Supermind]

During my recent MS-Psychology program at Walden, I was made aware of this usage of capitalization for Black & White. You capitalize only when the colors are referring to groups of people, and not when referring to colors. So, for example, one is expected to write as:

They are Black/White.
It is black/white.

I think MS-Word has already been updated to reflect this change.

True, although I am seeing more and more media articles misusing it. Plus the word white has not been allowed to be capitalized, IIRC the ny times article mentions that.

But still it is going to divide people even more since those who want to use grammar correctly will be criticized while their intent is proper use of grammar and not racism.

At this moment the change has been decided by a group of journalists that have an interest in doing so because of their skin color. Wasn't aware ms word is already updated on this.

I am just afraid of further divisions and another way for the liberal media to put a wedge between various groups.
Especially since a color is not a culture or an ethnicity. And this is true for any color.

Our country needs to heal and this is not a good way to do so.

What you say is so true. I found this capitalization very strange and unnecessary too. However, I am an international student and just accepted it as some American convention. I think capitalizing terminologies that highlight skin color would subconsciously program people to only grow more strongly attached to their racial identities, when the need of the hour is to actually downplay and minimize such identities. I wonder if they will soon also capitalize Brown?? So unnecessary. 

[Seagull]

During my recent MS-Psychology program at Walden, I was made aware of this usage of capitalization for Black & White. You capitalize only when the colors are referring to groups of people, and not when referring to colors. So, for example, one is expected to write as:

They are Black/White.
It is black/white.

I think MS-Word has already been updated to reflect this change.

True, although I am seeing more and more media articles misusing it. Plus the word white has not been allowed to be capitalized, IIRC the ny times article mentions that.

But still it is going to divide people even more since those who want to use grammar correctly will be criticized while their intent is proper use of grammar and not racism.

At this moment the change has been decided by a group of journalists that have an interest in doing so because of their skin color. Wasn't aware ms word is already updated on this.

I am just afraid of further divisions and another way for the liberal media to put a wedge between various groups.
Especially since a color is not a culture or an ethnicity. And this is true for any color.

Our country needs to heal and this is not a good way to do so.

What you say is so true. I found this capitalization very strange and unnecessary too. However, I am an international student and just accepted it as some American convention. I think capitalizing terminologies that highlight skin color would subconsciously program people to only grow more strongly attached to their racial identities, when the need of the hour is to actually downplay and minimize such identities. I wonder if they will soon also capitalize Brown?? So unnecessary. 

A game is only good if all follow the same rules, the problem is I just see a student wanting to follow the capitalization and a teacher disagreeing with it.

There is lots of gray area, excuse the pun.

With use there is always risk of abuse.

I do not see anything wrong with racial/ethnicity identity, but I see a lot of the media screaming cultural appropriation when one justly identifies with a specific culture. It is just too much.

[dfrecore]

I am just afraid of further divisions and another way for the liberal media to put a wedge between various groups.
Especially since a color is not a culture or an ethnicity. And this is true for any color.

Our country needs to heal and this is not a good way to do so.

What you say is so true. I found this capitalization very strange and unnecessary too. However, I am an international student and just accepted it as some American convention. I think capitalizing terminologies that highlight skin color would subconsciously program people to only grow more strongly attached to their racial identities, when the need of the hour is to actually downplay and minimize such identities. I wonder if they will soon also capitalize Brown?? So unnecessary. 

100%

---

A game is only good if all follow the same rules, the problem is I just see a student wanting to follow the capitalization and a teacher disagreeing with it.

I guarantee you this will happen.  A student won't know the unwritten rules, and break them without knowing what they did, and be called racist.  100% certain it will be a white kid.

[bluebooger]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/insid...black.html

Then there are those troubled that our policy will now capitalize 'Black' but not 'white.'
...
The Times also looked at whether to capitalize white and brown in reference to race, but both will remain lowercase.
...
white doesn't represent a shared culture and history in the way Black does,

what a load of garbage  
and that last sentence is so racist, yet they don't even see it