She brought diverse skin tones emoji to the iPhone. Now she s suing Apple
Reed Albergotti, The Washington Post
March 10, 2021
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Katrina Parrott, founder of iDiversicons, is shown with her app s emoji on Feb. 23, 2021 in Houston.Photo for The Washington Post by May-Ying Lam
For Katrina Parrott, being invited to present her idea to Apple at its campus in Cupertino, Calif., felt like a dream. Less than a year earlier, she had been laid off from her job with NASA in Texas. Now, she was discussing partnering with the iPhone maker on an idea she had pioneered: emoji with different skin-tone options.
Apple’s new $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative aims to help the Black community. But it was too late for Katrina Parrott, a Black woman who helped Apple invent diverse skin tone emojis, before the iPhone maker came out with its own designs.