It's both! Fun fact: language evolves with its use and so does spelling. Here's a longer explanation: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-capitalize-word-black_

It's both! Fun fact: language evolves with its use and so does spelling. Here's a longer explanation: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-capitalize-word-black_l_5f342ca1c5b6960c066faea5 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-capitalize-word-black_l_5... It explains why Black is capitalized but it also explains the reasoning behind some style guides deciding one way or the other when it comes to (w|W)hite. The short version is that prior to the move to capitalize Black white supremacists were already capitalizing White so doing it sends some mixed messages especially when you don't already have a clear reputation for being anti-racist (resolving the ambiguity). Additionally white and Black as racial categories work very differently: operationally, (to use a strained analogy I just now came up with that someone will surely try to poke holes into) white behaves as a racial category like bald does as a hair color (i.e. it's defined by the absence of other qualifiers, hence the "one drop" rhetoric). If you want to better understand the reasoning behind treating white differently, I suggest looking into articles about decolonization but it can take some suspension of judgement to understand the full reasoning if you're used to thinking everything is fine and nothing fundamentally needs to change. If you already let out an audible groan when seeing the URL of the article I linked, I suggest moving on to a different topic and coming back to it when you're in a more curious mood.