Despite being a fairly mainstream industry now, discriminatory hiring practices and racial stigmas are among the challenges that Black tattoo artists say they face in the white-dominated field of tattoo artistry.
The lack of diversity can also affect customers due to many professionals' inexperience with tattooing on Black and brown skin, something that"has left many darker-skinned clients struggling to find someone who can actually provide them with quality work," Parker said. Gresham is a native of Flint, Michigan, who grew up during an era when tattoos were not widely accepted. She said she used her artistic background to study architecture before pursuing her true passion of tattooing.
The 27-year-old said that one of her primary drives in taking the leap to open her own shop was after her struggle with finding opportunities elsewhere. Now, Layne runs a shop that prioritizes service for women/femmes, LGBTQA+; and Black, Indigenous and people of color "We are a group of people coming together to build something bigger than ourselves … our purpose is to give artists the tools to create their best artwork," Petralia told ABC News.