The following are examples of bias-free language for racial and ethnic identity. Both problematic and preferred examples are presented with explanatory comments.
Black Pigments
Virgil prefers Mars Black and Ivory Black (or Bone Black).
Some artists refrain from using single black pigments and prefer mixing their own from multiple pigments or they avoid using black altogether. Below are some comments from Virgil on these subjects:
Re: Mixing Blacks
- This idea that black should be mixed from other colors has no good reason that I can see behind it. And to mix a substitute for it out of fugitive colors like alizarin crimson, sap green, etc. is folly. There are some very good black pigments available that do not fade or otherwise change color.
- Mixtures of other pigments to approximate black can only equal the degree of darkness of transparent bone (called ivory) black if the pigments are at least as transparent as bone black. Umbers are not as transparent as bone black, so mixtures containing them will not likely read as dark, besides which, umbers (especially burnt umber) tend to dry matte and create sunken-in dry-appearing patches. What is called Van Dyke brown today is a mixture containing burnt umber, usually mixed with bone black.
- When two or more pigments are mixed in an attempt to substitute for black, there are likely differences in lightfastness between them, so when the least lightfast of the pigments in the mixture fades, the hue of the mixture will change. I have samples of alizarin crimson that not only faded in my tests, but also lost their transparence, and became an opaque grey eventually. Some of the sap green samples did this also. This it why I see no good reason to eschew bone black in favor of mixed approximations of black.
- I generally prefer to avoid tubed colors that are made with more than one pigment in my own work, out of concern for the possibility that one of the pigments in the mixture might fade before the other, someday, thus causing the color to change. So if there is a lightfast single-pigment color that will serve the purpose, as there is in the case of the blacks, that’s what I’ll use.
Perhaps one exception? Gamblin Chromatic Black is a mixture of phthalocyanine green PG 36, and a quinacridone red pigment, PV 19, which are approximate complements. Both pigments are highly lightfast and high in tinting strength.
Re: Avoiding Black
- Regarding the “Don’t use black” dictum, whenever I encounter that, I ask if it came from someone who could paint better than Rembrandt, Velazquez, Rubens, Van Dyck, Frans Hals, Sargent, Leonardo, Bouguereau, Titian, etc., all of whom used black.
- The greatest painters who ever lived ALL used black. Whoever it was who started this “don’t use black” nonsense was surely not one of the greatest painters who ever lived, so why follow his advice?
Ivory Black
Pigment Number: PBk9
Virgil’s Assessment
Ivory black is really bone black, a single pigment that does not fade.
Ivory black is semi-transparent, and is effectively transparent when applied thinly or/and when a small amount of a clear medium is added to it. As a glaze applied over something lighter, its hue shifts toward brown, whereas in a mixture with white, it reads bluish.
Compared to Mars black, Bone black is better for the later stages of a painting because it’s transparent, and doesn’t create a dirty appearance in mixtures with colors the way Mars black tends to do.
Its tinting strength is lower than Mars black.
It does dry slowly, but if the painting is done on a lead ground or has lead white as the only white in it, all the colors will dry better and form stronger paint films than otherwise. If faster drying of bone black is desired, a tiny addition of an alkyd medium can take care of it.
To get the utmost in darkness, bone black used transparently reads darker than anything else, with the possible exception of lamp black, which is best avoided because it’s a problematic paint. The reason a transparent passage reads darker than an opaque application is that some of the light that strikes it penetrates into the interior of the paint rather than reflecting off its surface, so less light reaches our eyes from those passages. This is useful in creating the illusion of three-dimensional depth because it expands the range of values at the painter’s disposal. Light in Nature is lighter than any paint, including white, so, as the Old Masters understood well, painting everything darker than it is allows for a more convincingly realistic effect.
Rublev labels its Ivory Black Bone Black, and that’s my favorite of that color. There are other brands whose Ivory Blacks are good also, including Sennelier, Blockx, Michael Harding, Williamsburg, Winsor & Newton, and Gamblin, among the ones I have used over the last few years
Technical Links
The Colour of Art Pigment Database: Black Pigments
* Although similar in chemical composition, true Ivory black used to be from calcined ivory. Ivory is now banned and illegal to import. Bone black and Ivory black have come to be used interchangeably to name artist paints made from Calcined (burnt) animal bones.
Read a description of how bone black is made.
Learn more
Racial and ethnic identity is covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 5.7 and the Concise Guide Section 3.7
This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition.
Spelling and capitalization of racial and ethnic terms
Racial and ethnic groups are designated by proper nouns and are capitalized. Therefore, use “Black” and “White” instead of “black” and “white” (do not use colors to refer to other human groups; doing so is considered pejorative). Likewise, capitalize terms such as “Native American,” “Hispanic,” and so on. Capitalize “Indigenous” and “Aboriginal” whenever they are used. Capitalize “Indigenous People” or “Aboriginal People” when referring to a specific group (e.g., the Indigenous Peoples of Canada), but use lowercase for “people” when describing persons who are Indigenous or Aboriginal (e.g., “the authors were all Indigenous people but belonged to different nations”).
Do not use hyphens in multiword names, even if the names act as unit modifiers (e.g., write “Asian American participants,” not “Asian-American participants”). If people belong to multiple racial or ethnic groups, the names of the specific groups are capitalized, but the terms “multiracial,” “biracial,” “multi-ethnic,” and so on are lowercase.
Terms for specific groups
Designations for specific ethnic and racial groups are described next. These groups frequently are included in studies published in APA journals; the examples provided are far from exhaustive but illustrate some of the complexities of labeling.
People of African origin
When writing about people of African ancestry, several factors inform the appropriate terms to use. People of African descent have widely varied cultural backgrounds, family histories, and family experiences. Some will be from Caribbean islands, Latin America, various regions in the United States, countries in Africa, or elsewhere. Some American people of African ancestry prefer “Black,” and others prefer “African American”; both terms are acceptable. However, “African American” should not be used as an umbrella term for people of African ancestry worldwide because it obscures other ethnicities or national origins, such as Nigerian, Kenyan, Jamaican, or Bahamian; in these cases use “Black.” The terms “Negro” and “Afro-American” are outdated; therefore, their use is generally inappropriate.
People of Asian origin
When writing about people of Asian ancestry from Asia, the term “Asian” is appropriate; for people of Asian descent from the United States or Canada, the appropriate term is “Asian American” or “Asian Canadian,” respectively. It is problematic to group “Asian” and “Asian American” as if they are synonymous. This usage reinforces the idea that Asian Americans are perpetual foreigners. “Asian” refers to Asians in Asia, not in the United States, and should not be used to refer to Asian Americans. The older term “Oriental” is primarily used to refer to cultural objects such as carpets and is pejorative when used to refer to people. To provide more specificity, “Asian origin” may be divided regionally, for example, into South Asia (including most of India and countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal), Southeast Asia (including the eastern parts of India and countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines), and East Asia (including countries such as China, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea and North Korea, and Taiwan). The corresponding terms (e.g., East Asian) can be used; however, refer to the specific nation or region of origin when possible.
People of European origin
When writing about people of European ancestry, the terms “White” and “European American” are acceptable. Adjust the latter term as needed for location, for example, “European,” “European American,” and “European Australian” for people of European descent living in Europe, the United States, and Australia, respectively. The use of the term “Caucasian” as an alternative to “White” or “European” is discouraged because it originated as a way of classifying White people as a race to be favorably compared with other races. As with all discussions of race and ethnicity, it is preferable to be more specific about regional (e.g., Southern European, Scandinavian) or national (e.g., Italian, Irish, Swedish, French, Polish) origin when possible.
Indigenous Peoples around the world
When writing about Indigenous Peoples, use the names that they call themselves. In general, refer to an Indigenous group as a “people” or “nation” rather than as a “tribe.”
- In North America, the collective terms “Native American” and “Native North American” are acceptable (and may be preferred to “American Indian”). “Indian” usually refers to people from India. Specify the nation or people if possible (e.g., Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux).
- Hawaiian Natives may identify as “Native American,” “Hawaiian Native,” “Indigenous Peoples of the Hawaiian Islands,” and/or “Pacific Islander.”
- In Canada, refer to the Indigenous Peoples collectively as “Indigenous Peoples” or “Aboriginal Peoples” (International Journal of Indigenous Health, n.d.); specify the nation or people if possible (e.g., People of the First Nations of Canada, People of the First Nations, or First Nations People; Métis; Inuit).
- In Alaska, the Indigenous People may identify as “Alaska Natives.” The Indigenous Peoples in Alaska, Canada, Siberia, and Greenland may identify as a specific nation (e.g., Inuit, Iñupiat). Avoid the term “Eskimo” because it may be considered pejorative.
- In Latin America and the Caribbean, refer to the Indigenous Peoples collectively as “Indigenous Peoples” and by name if possible (e.g., Quechua, Aymara, Taíno, Nahuatl).
- In Australia, the Indigenous Peoples may identify as “Aboriginal People” or “Aboriginal Australians” and “Torres Strait Islander People” or “Torres Strait Island Australians.” Refer to specific groups when people use these terms to refer to themselves (e.g., Anangu Pitjantjatjara, Arrernte).
- In New Zealand, the Indigenous People may identify as “Māori” or the “Māori people” (the proper spelling includes the diacritical macron over the “a”).
For information on citing the Traditional Knowledge or Oral Traditions of Indigenous Peoples as well as the capitalization of terms related to Indigenous Peoples, see Section 8.9 of the Publication Manual.
People of Middle Eastern origin
When writing about people of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent, state the nation of origin (e.g., Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel) when possible. In some cases, people of MENA descent who claim Arab ancestry and reside in the United States may be referred to as “Arab Americans.” In all cases, it is best to allow individuals to self-identify.
People of Hispanic or Latinx ethnicity
When writing about people who identify as Hispanic, Latino (or Latinx, etc.), Chicano, or another related designation, authors should consult with their participants to determine the appropriate choice. Note that “Hispanic” is not necessarily an all-encompassing term, and the labels “Hispanic” and “Latino” have different connotations. The term “Latino” (and its related forms) might be preferred by those originating from Latin America, including Brazil. Some use the word “Hispanic” to refer to those who speak Spanish; however, not every group in Latin America speaks Spanish (e.g., in Brazil, the official language is Portuguese). The word “Latino” is gendered (i.e., “Latino” is masculine and “Latina” is feminine); the use of the word “Latin@” to mean both Latino and Latina is now widely accepted. “Latinx” can also be used as a gender-neutral or nonbinary term inclusive of all genders. There are compelling reasons to use any of the terms “Latino,” “Latina,” “Latino/a,” “Latin@,” and/or “Latinx” (see de Onís, 2017), and various groups advocate for the use of different forms. Use the term(s) your participants or population uses; if you are not working directly with this population but it is a focus of your research, it may be helpful to explain why you chose the term you used or to choose a more inclusive term like “Latinx.” In general, naming a nation or region of origin is preferred (e.g., Bolivian, Salvadoran, or Costa Rican is more specific than Latino, Latinx, Latin American, or Hispanic).
