Although listed as synonyms, they are used differently. *Darkness* means dark or the absence of light. For example: > Light shone in the darkness. It's unidiomatic to say *light shone in the blackness*, unless it's something metaphorical. In addition, darkness means *night* or *evil*. > As darkness fell, we started packing.(night) > > The forces of darkness took over the jungle. (evil, magic, etc.) Would be strange or would convey different meaning to say: > As blackness fell, we started packing. > > The forces of blackness took over the jungle. These are not wrong, but they don't seem idiomatic to me. *Blackness* in general means the opposite of white color or whiteness(as in your case). So you could say: > Black coffee, hair, etc. or the blackness of the coffee, hair, etc. Or > Dark coffee, dark hair, etc.