NSDA Natinals Informative Speaking National Finalist Champion 2025 JA'NAYAH HOWARD

Summary

This speech explores colorism in photography through a personal, historical, and cultural lens. Beginning with the speaker’s own struggles with school ID photos, it traces how photographic technologies—from film chemistry and Shirley cards to modern smartphone algorithms—were built around lighter skin tones, marginalizing darker complexions. The talk highlights how these biases persist today through beauty filters, photo editing, media portrayals, and even institutional practices like job applications, mug shots, and medical imaging. Despite the harm, the speaker emphasizes hope, noting that intentional photographers and institutions can create equitable representation, allowing dark skin to be seen clearly, accurately, and beautifully.

Takeaways

• 😀 Colorism in photography, both historical and modern, disproportionately affects people with darker skin tones, impacting how they are perceived and represented.
• 😀 Early photographic technology, such as color film and camera calibration, failed to accurately capture darker skin tones, leading to a lack of recognition and representation.
• 😀 The introduction of the Shirley card in the 1990s by Kodak attempted to address colorism in photography by improving the representation of darker skin tones, but the problem persists in modern technology.
• 😀 Modern smartphone cameras and editing algorithms are still largely trained on fair-skinned individuals, causing darker skin tones to be inaccurately captured or misrepresented.
• 😀 Social media filters, like those on Snapchat, contribute to colorism by lightening skin tones, reinforcing the idea that lighter skin is more beautiful, thus perpetuating Eurocentric beauty standards.
• 😀 Colorism not only affects technology but also the photographers who often lighten dark-skinned individuals in photos to conform to societal beauty ideals.
• 😀 Magazine covers and media often lighten dark-skinned models or darken mugshots to manipulate public perception, associating darker skin with criminality and lighter skin with beauty.
• 😀 Colorism in photography has real-world consequences, such as darker-skinned individuals facing discrimination in job hiring, legal judgments, and even medical diagnoses.
• 😀 The practice of lightening or darkening photos, especially mugshots, has serious implications, including higher prison sentences for dark-skinned defendants due to public biases.
• 😀 Despite these challenges, dark-skinned photographers are working to create more accurate and beautiful representations of dark skin, showing that change is possible through intentional care and effort in photography.

Q & A

What is colorism, and who coined the term?

Colorism is the prejudicial treatment of individuals based solely on their skin tone, often favoring those with lighter skin over those with darker skin. The term was coined by author Alice Walker in her collection 'In Search of Our Mother's Gardens.'

How did early photographic technology contribute to colorism?

Early photographic film, particularly color film, lacked photosensitive chemicals to capture the red, brown, and yellow tones that are common in darker skin. This led to darker skin tones appearing muddy and indistinct in photographs.

What was the significance of the 'Shirley card' in the context of colorism?

The 'Shirley card' was created by Kodak to calibrate cameras for accurate facial feature capture. Initially, it featured a model named Shirley, whose lighter skin tone led to difficulties in capturing darker skin tones correctly. This highlighted the racial bias in photographic technology at the time.

How did commercial clients, like chocolate and furniture manufacturers, influence Kodak's response to colorism?

In the 1990s, commercial clients like chocolate and furniture manufacturers raised concerns that their products, particularly dark brown tones, were not being accurately represented in photos. This pressure led Kodak to release a multi-racial 'Shirley card' in 1995 to improve the representation of darker skin tones.

What modern-day issues exist in photography regarding dark skin tones?

Modern digital photography, especially in smartphones, still struggles to accurately capture dark skin tones due to algorithms and camera settings being trained primarily on lighter-skinned individuals. This results in dark skin often being underexposed or poorly represented in photos.

How do beauty filters on platforms like Snapchat perpetuate colorism?

Beauty filters on platforms like Snapchat often lighten the skin, narrow the face, and enhance other Eurocentric features like blue eyes, reinforcing the idea that lighter skin is more beautiful. These filters have been criticized for perpetuating colorist ideals.

How does colorism affect individuals in the criminal justice system?

Colorism affects the criminal justice system, particularly through practices like darkening mugshots before trials. Research shows that darker-skinned individuals are often perceived as more criminal and may receive harsher sentences than lighter-skinned individuals, even when equally guilty.

What role does photography play in job applications, according to research?

Studies show that darker-skinned individuals may be advised to remove their photos from job applications, as lighter-skinned individuals are often perceived as more attractive and more qualified, despite qualifications being identical.

What solutions have photographers and institutions proposed to address colorism in photography?

Photographers like Azanobi have demonstrated that lighting, staging, and careful attention can help accurately capture dark skin tones. Additionally, there is a growing movement of dark-skinned photographers who are advocating for more inclusive and representative photography.

How does the speaker personally feel about the progress in addressing colorism in photography?

The speaker expresses optimism, citing their personal experience with improved school ID photos, where they feel their dark skin is now accurately represented. This reflects a broader change in institutions and a step toward greater inclusivity.