Azizi-

Thanks for your kind response. Sorry about the Pittsburgh typo; I really do know better.

Uncle Phil-

The same word can be a common or a proper noun dpending on context and intent. Think of all the people surnamed White, Brown, Green, etc. I even know of a guy whose last name is Pink.

Racial referents are always emotionally loaded. I have known a number of WhitesAnglos who defended their right to use the word "n****r" because African Americans themselves used it. I'm not going to defend its use by anyone. I personally find it almost impossible even to write it much less say it because of the emotional impact on me and my family when it was used against us. It COULD NOT be just another word.

The same applies to capitalization of Black or Colored when referring to African Americans. The lack of the capital letter feels to me like a slur because that was usually its intent in my childhood.

I'm fond of words and grammar and can happily discuss them endlessly, but in this case the emotional content is just too high.