AFP / MEGA

President Donald Trump recognized golf legend Tiger Woods and abolitionist activist Harriet Tubman in a proclamation on Friday.

Trump extended his “tremendous gratitude” to Black Americans for “all they have done to bring us to this moment” and any future contributions.

“Every year, National Black History Month is an occasion to celebrate the contributions of so many black American patriots who have indelibly shaped our Nation’s history,” Trump’s proclamation began.

“Their achievements, which have monumentally advanced the tradition of equality under the law in our great country, continue to serve as an inspiration for all Americans,” Trump said.

“American heroes such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Thomas Sowell, Justice Clarence Thomas, and countless others represent what is best in America and her citizens,” Trump said in his statement.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

“We will also never forget the achievements of American greats like Tiger Woods, who have pushed the boundaries of excellence in their respective fields, paving the way for others to follow,” Trump added

However, Trump upset Black journalists when he used a lowercase “b” to describe Black Americans in his statement. They argued that using a lowercase b is disrespectful to Black Americans.

According to NewsOne, “A growing number of style guides for publications have adapted the capital B style in recent years when using variations of the word ‘Black’ that refer specifically to ethnicity and racial background.”

NewsOne writes that Trump’s use of the lowercase b was “obviously an intentional choice” – to use a lowercase B to address “black Americans,” which minimizes racial identity.

However, many Black Americans continue to use the lowercase b to refer to race in their social media posts.

“Capitalizing the ‘B’ in Black should become standard use to describe people, culture, art and communities. We already capitalize Asian, Hispanic, African American and Native American,” Sarah Glover, the past president of the National Association of Black Journalists, wrote in an op-ed from 2020.

The Diversity Style Guide, Associated Press, USA Today. the Atlantic, the Chicago Manual of Style and the New York Times all use capital B. NewsOne has used the uppercase B since its inception more than a decade ago.

Sandrarose.com is among a handful of bloggers who consistently use the uppercase B when referring to Black people. But the practice has not caught on as a standard in American journalism or on social media.

Film director Morgan J. Freeman satirically posted on X: “Trump orders the B in Black to be lowercase in all public documents, literature, movie scripts & text books. And orders the w in white to be an uppercase W.”