I know that terminology can matter. For instance, given the deep stain that slavery left on our society, I am in favor of nudging consciousness a bit by replacing the term “slave” with “enslaved person.” One can sense an attitude here and there, after all, a notion that slavery is inherent to some people, and it’s not a new one — Aristotle argued, “For that some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of their birth, some are marked out for subjugation.” I understand why we now refer to Ukraine as “Ukraine” and have abandoned the old quirk of calling it “the Ukraine,” which implies that it is merely a region, a locale — and specifically one subsumed by Russia — rather than the separate historical, linguistic, political and cultural entity that it is (a distinction that has had its relevance grimly demonstrated in recent days).I have also never much liked the term “African American,” because of its implication that Black Americans are African in a way relevant to our current lives. To stress that connection in what we call ourselves always struck me as forced. Although opinions will differ on such things, in my view, the connection to Africa, for most of us, is too many generations removed for “African American” to truly work.But the capitalization issue is about style and usage, rather than replacing one word with another, and the written rather than the spoken word. And it seems to me that people can process the written word “black” as having many meanings, just as they do when it’s spoken, when, of course, no capitalization is possible.In writing as well as speech, we effortlessly process that to “pick up” refers to lifting objects, fetching children from school, getting a disease and increasing in speed. We can even handle words able to refer to nearly opposite things: a “fast learner” versus a chair “stuck fast” to the floor. Or the literal and figurative use of “literally,” which so exasperates many but does not create actual confusion. No one thinks someone who announces that they’re “literally boiling to death” on a hot day is melting away like Looney Tunes’ Abominable Snowman.With the “black” issue, my ultimate sentiment is that we spend an inordinate amount of time concerning ourselves with how matters of power and diversity are expressed. I suspect that activists and agitators of yore would find our obsession with such things rather peculiar and worry that it siphoned off energy from more grounded efforts.