Why photo colors favored light skin (and how art fights back)

Back in the days of film cameras, photo labs used color-correcting guides called Shirley Cards. These cards featured a white woman named Shirley, which meant photos of Black people often came out looking too dark or unnatural. The mismatch wasn’t intentional at first—Shirley was just a Kodak employee whose image became the standard. But the problem ran deep: the system was built around one skin tone, leaving others invisible in photographs. Artist Jeremy Okai Davis created an exhibition called “Presence of Color” to highlight this forgotten history and celebrate Black figures. The show, now running in Charlotte, includes large paintings like one of activist Angela Davis, inspired by a 1971 magazine cover. Davis uses a pixelated style to show how technology can unify different people, not separate them. His work isn’t just about fixing past mistakes—it’s about making sure Black stories get the same attention as others.The exhibition’s curator, Dr. Tamara Brothers, wanted visitors to do more than just glance at the art. She added detailed descriptions to help people understand the deeper meaning behind each piece. Over 500 people showed up to the opening, proving how much this topic resonates. Brothers also works to preserve local Black history, like the Broadell neighborhood in Fayetteville. Here’s the weird part: Kodak finally fixed the Shirley Cards in the 1990s, but not because of racial fairness. Companies that sold chocolate and furniture complained—their products weren’t showing up correctly in photos. You couldn’t tell milk chocolate from dark chocolate on the prints. So Kodak updated the cards to include more skin tones. The change came late, but it proved the system could adapt when needed.