It's important to choose your words carefully and to be as specific as you can when writing about ethnicity and race, as well as to keep a close eye on your word choices.

Terms to avoid and alternatives

Black(s), white(s) (n.)

Do not use either term as a singular noun. For plurals, phrasing such as Black people, white people, Black teachers, white students is often preferable when clearly relevant. For more information on the capitalization of Black and lowercase white, please see the AP's announcement on this decision and the reasoning behind it.

People of Color

The term is acceptable when necessary in broad references to multiple races other than white: We will hire more people of color.

Be aware, however, that many people of various races object to the term for various reasons, including that it lumps together into one monolithic group anyone who isn't white.

Be specific whenever possible.

Chicano

A term that Mexican Americans in the U.S. Southwest sometimes use to describe their heritage. Use only if it is a person's preference.

Latino, Latina

Latino is often the preferred noun or adjective for a person from, or whose ancestors were from, a Spanish-speaking land or culture or from Latin America. Use a more specific identification when possible, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican, Brazilian or Mexican American.

Hispanic

A person from — or whose ancestors were from — a Spanish-speaking land or culture. Latino, Latina or Latinx are sometimes preferred. Follow the person's preference. Use a more specific identification when possible, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican or Mexican American.

American Indians, Native Americans, Indigenous

All three are acceptable terms in general references for those in the U.S. when referring to two or more people of different tribal affiliations.

For individuals, use the name of the tribe; if that information is not immediately available, try to obtain it. He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Some tribes and tribal nations use member; others use citizen. If in doubt, use citizen. In Alaska, the Indigenous groups are collectively known as Alaska Natives.

First Nation is the preferred term for native tribes in Canada.

Indian is used to describe the peoples and cultures of the South Asian nation of India. Do not use the term as a shorthand for American Indians.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

It's best when referring to a group of east-Asian people to use the above phrase rather than simply 'Asian,' as 'Asian' encompasses people from East Asia (China and Korea, for example), South Asia (India and Sri Lanka, for example) and Pacific Islanders (people from Hawaii and Polynesia for example.)

As this is a group that has been historically merged together in Westerners' minds and language, grouping people from disparate areas together as one people is harmful.

It is also too vague.

It's always best, when writing about individuals, to ask them how they identify, and if writing about communities, to identify them by their specific language/cultural/heritage group: Vietnamese, Hmong, Chinese, etc.

Learn More

For more in-depth information on writing about race and ethnicity, please see the AP Stylebook's section on writing about race.