Shirley Cards

Shirley Cards, which Rankine discusses in "liminal spaces i," are reference cards used in the development of photographs since the 1940s intended to calibrate light and color balances. The cards, named after a Kodak film employee, generally featured a white woman. Rankine points out that this is an example of racial bias and privilege because, for decades, no effort was made to ensure that photographs featuring people of color would be calibrated correctly. White skin was the presumed norm and no other skin tones were taken into account.

Simianization

In "evolution," Rankine refers to the concept of simianization—drawing dehumanizing comparisons between black people and apes—as an example of overt racism. She mentions several examples from recent years, including tweets in which the insult was levied against the mixed-race baby of British royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and against First Lady Michelle Obama. Rankine...