Black as a noun? (And other related questions)
We at the paragraph factory believe words matter. As such, we strive to make sure our words are the most accurate, clear and sensitive way to describe things. As chief of the copy desk, doing this isn’t always easy.
For example, take the entries in our stylebook for “African-American” and “black.” Here are the entries in full:
African American (noun) African-American (adjective)
Never use “Afro-American.” Both the noun and adjective are acceptable for an American black person of African descent. Some people prefer the term “black.” If possible, ask which term the person prefers. Do not use “black” as a noun.
This term is not acceptable for a black person who lives in, say, England. Also, people from Caribbean nations, for example, would refer to themselves as Caribbean-American.
black
Acceptable as an adjective for a person of the black race. Do not use “black” or “blacks” as a noun. This is an exception to AP style. “African-American” (adjective) and “African American” (noun) are both fine. If possible, ask which term the person prefers.
The Associated Press differs from our style in one key way: They say it’s acceptable to use "black" as a noun.
Now, there’s clearly a debate about this. An article from the Poynter Institute presents several viewpoints.
We wanted to err on the side of being more sensitive. Hardly anyone is offended by “black person.” What’s the harm in adding just one more word?
Of course there are related debates. In general, newspapers avoid the term “gays,” but “lesbians” is very common. I have two gay friends, both who work in journalism, and one sees no problem with “gays” while the other thinks the term is demeaning.
What about proper nouns such as Jews, Hispanics or Americans? Those are all very common, but shouldn’t we follow the same principle as above? After all, we're all people. Why should one aspect of a person be emphasized over that fact?
Bottom line, we think our guidelines are both clear and sensitive. Additionally, (and the AP changed its stance on the issue this year) we use either “African-American” or “black,” depending on what the person prefers. I guess that’s the bottom line: we should describe people how they want to be described.