The term “black” is a word that can be used as a noun, an adjective, and a verb. Depending on the context you use it in, it can have different meanings. Making sure it is appropriately written is necessary.
The word “black” does not take capitalization. When used as an adjective, a noun, or a verb, it should always be lowercase. People may feel the need to capitalize it when talking about ethnicity, but ethnic groups by color are usually lowercase unless a publisher or author prefers otherwise.
With language changing or, better put, evolving, so many words take different roles within a sentence. Instead of making up new words, we recycle, which is suitable if we were talking about the environment. Nowadays, with social media, we have reels, stories, challenges and continuously use those words as something different from the original definition.
What is Black?
The word “black” can be defined as a color when used as a noun or an adjective. It also speaks of race and ethnicity. But to know what is used for today, we need to go back to the beginning.
Black is a word that has a German origin. It comes from Old English blaec, from Proto-Germanic *blakkaz (burned), and Proto-Indo-European *bhled- (to burn).
It was one of the first colors used in art between 17,000 and 18,000 years ago. They started with charcoal and later added powder of manganese oxide to achieve a darker pigment. Around the 12th and 13th centuries, black was worn by Benedictine monks as a sign of humility and repentance. In clothing, black was a symbol of death and sin, whereas white was regarded as pure, innocent.
Black ink, invented in China, was the most used color with writing as it provided the best contrast and better legibility on paper. And by the 14th and 15th centuries, the status of black began to change as government officials began to use this color as a sign of importance and solemnity of their position. After that, black began to have a more widespread presence among people.
Positive and Negative Associations With Black
When we talk about colors, we can talk about feelings, expressions, idioms, and many other things. It is one way to communicate that doesn’t have a literal meaning. Here you’ll see that even when using them in idioms, the word black or any color whatsoever is always spelled with a lowercase.
- He has a green thumb. This means the person has a natural talent for gardening.
- Dad has decided to quit his job out of the blue. This means something happened without any warning.
- He is blue blood. It is a person that is from a noble, aristocratic, or wealthy family.
- I am yellow-bellied. This means the person is a coward.
- He got the pink slip. The person probably got fired or dismissed.
- This air fryer has become a real white elephant. This means something is costly and not worth keeping.
- This job is a golden opportunity—an excellent chance to do or get something.
- This law will just create more red tape—excessive bureaucracy or adherence to official rules and formalities.
- My dream is to work on the silver screen—another term to refer to the movie industry.
- He is a blue-collar worker. This is the person who engages in hard manual labor, such as agriculture, construction, mining, or maintenance.
- She has a red-collar job. These are government workers of all types.
- They both have white-collar jobs. These are the suit-tie workers who work at a desk in an office, usually regarded as higher-paid workers.
Some other idioms are known to have either positive or negative connotations.
- Things are not always black or white. Things are not always so simple.
- We are going during Black Friday in November. Black Friday is the day after a big holiday when stores offer significant discounts to customers. It is usually seen the day after Thanksgiving, and traditionally was the day of the year when stores were “in the black“, which means they have finally made money.
- We had a power outage last night; it was black as night. When something is very dark.
- His face is all black and blue. It is used to describe when something is badly bruised.
- After working on the car all day, my hands are black as a skillet. It is used to describe something very dirty, black with dirt.
- I can’t believe you found this in the black market! A term used for places where products or services are illegally bought and sold.
- And after I complained about the waitress, I was blacklisted from that bar. Writing down a person’s name somewhere to ban them from accessing a service or a place ever again.
- Someone has been blackmailing me for months, and I still don’t know who that person is. When someone extorts or takes money by using secrets or information against them.
- I’m going to put him in my black book. This means to be in disgrace with someone.
- Is going to be a black-tie event, so dress up. It is a formal event where people wear tuxedos and dresses.
- She is the black sheep of the family. It is a term to describe someone as the odd out of the family, who doesn’t fit with the rest.
- The theater was pitch black, and I almost tripped. This is a term used to talk about when something is dark.
Race and Ethnicity
Racial groups are often designated by color. Black is used with African ancestry; yellow is for those with Asian ancestry; brown is used for people from South Asian Americans, Middle Eastern Americans, Hispanic and Luso Latinos origin; and white is for those with European ancestry.
The use of colors is often used for identification, but many others use it in a derogatory way. Black has had a “negative” connotation and white a “positive” connotation. An example of this is The Doll Test was a test performed on children where they put them in a room with two dolls, a white one and a black one, and asked which one they thought was the good doll and the bad doll. The majority of the children declared the white doll as good and the black doll as bad. This test was to prove the effects of segregation in children.
Should “black” Be Capitalized?
It is accepted to capitalize “Black Friday” as it is considered a proper noun used to refer to the famous shopping event that occurs right after Thanksgiving day. Colors should be lowercase as the use of the word black in any place in a sentence, but capitalizing black in writing is a matter of opinion.
The people who recognize black as a race demand that it is given the importance that it deserves. To many people, black is more than a color, more than quality; it is heritage and history. The Brookings Institution, an American research group, announced that it would update its writing style to include the word “Black” with a capital B when referring to the black or African American people.
Some exceptions to the rule are that some style guides such as The Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook establish that a designation of an ethnic group by color must be lowercase. Still, it is really up to the publisher of the text to decide whether it will be capital or lowercase.
Conclusion
Black is a word that has many meanings, some positive and some negative. Regardless of the context used or the style used to write it, it should be lowercase. Nonetheless, capital or no capital is to this day still debatable.
Shawn Manaher is the founder and CEO of The Content Authority. He’s one part content manager, one part writing ninja organizer, and two parts leader of top content creators. You don’t even want to know what he calls pancakes.