Capitalizing "Black"

My latest pet peeve. The New York Times and other publications and news services have begun capitalizing Black in referring to African Americans. Below is an excellent example of the rationale. Yet a number of white people are, cluelessly, thinking “white” should be capitalized as well.

In a nutshell, most Black people in this country are descendants of slaves who knew little about their earlier roots and languages. The slave trade came from Africa, began early, and was time-limited. They were treated as a separate caste from the beginning, and, although obviously diverse in many ways, have a distinct culture and language, forged anew in this country. Capitalizing Black recognizes what is in many ways a national identity.

White people, the majority of this country, aren’t a distinct culture. They’ve been arriving ever since the Mayflower from all over Europe. The Boston Irish, the Appalachian hillbillies, my Swedish grandparents who arrived around 1900, and many more couldn’t be more different. Yet there are people bothered that “white” isn’t being capitalized. It’s not a culture!

Can’t Black people have something of their own, just a capital letter in this case, without white people feeling they need one too? This is exactly the same as saying “all lives matter.” White narcissism. Get over it.