You, guys, are so English! I love it! One must really live in America to understand what it is, what "Black" is. I wouldn't be that categorical as to whether I should never capitalise the word "black" if I choose to describe someone's color.
Black is sometimes capitalized in its racial sense, especially in the African-American press, though the lowercase form is still widely used by authors of all races.
I've capitalized the word "black" meaning the race, not the actual color of the skin.
Last edited by Bennevis; 13-Dec-2011 at 17:29.
I live in a place where people routinely say "I've went" so I'm sure there are Americans who say "He's been gone to X since Y" but I call it utterly non-standard. I would definitely edit in writing and correct my children if they said it.
I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.