settlers applied the adjective "black" to the indigenous population. It was universally regarded as highly offensive in Australia until the 1960s and 1970s. "Black" was generally not used as a noun, but rather as an adjective qualifying some other descriptor. As desegregation progressed after the 1967 referendum, some Indigenous Australians adopted the term, following the American fashion, but it remains problematic.

Several American style guides, including the AP Stylebook, changed their guides to