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Capitalizing “black” is a political statement, not a linguistic description. In English, races aren’t capitalized, while terms referring to distinct ethnic groups are (so you capitalize “German” but not “white”). As John McWhorter persuasively explains, rationale for capitalizing “Black” is that American descendants of slaves are a distinct group bound by shared history and culture. That’s fine insofar as “Black” is used to refer to what we might call “ADOS.” But in practice “Black” is used as a racial designator. At Harvard, for example, 40% of the “Black” students are african immigrants. Obama is “Black”—that describes his race, not his ethno-cultural group.
Capitalizing “black” is a political effort to center the experience of black people in American life. Consider the term “BIPOC,” which breaks out “black” and “indigenous” as first among equals even though they’re included in the “POC.” What is the intention of that?
These labels and classifications, in turn, have real world ramifications. My daughter’s school has a segregated “black girl magic” lunch every week. There’s no “half white half bangladeshi girl magic,” and few non-black, non-white students, so she was invited to attend the weekly lunch once a month. Even at age 12, my daughter is able to perceive there is a racial hierarchy designed to invert the historical one.
You genuinely believe that's the endgame? White people being segregated. Fancy Colored washrooms and For whites only outhouses?
The risk is not to the material interests of white people—they have a plurality of the population so you won’t get a situation like South Africa. Instead, you’ll get a breakdown of racial egalitarianism. Half the country will feel comfortable being openly racist against whites—and each other—even if they don’t have the votes to act on that animus. Meanwhile, most whites raised in that environment—the ones who don’t have economic privilege to fall back on—will develop a racial animosity we haven’t seen since the 1950s. The result will be ethnic conflict that cripples our ability to do anything (just as in virtually all multi-ethnic societies).
What can possibly go wrong when a portion of the population feels segregated?
I wonder if it will make them adopt a victimization stance and band together around those that promise to end it.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Not only promising to end it, but gaining their trust by giving them facts that collapse the official narrative. The midwestern kid who are growing up hearing "slavery built America"--someone is going to tell him that his ancestors were German indentured servants who cultivated cold, harsh land themselves and whose only involvement with slavery was fighting and dying to end it.