diff --git a/config.h b/config.h
index 421ad3d..272c9b5 100644
--- a/config.h
+++ b/config.h
@@ -20,10 +20,12 @@ static const char col_gray3[]       = "#bbbbbb";
 static const char col_gray4[]       = "#eeeeee";
 static const char col_cyan[]        = "#005577";
 static const char col_amber[]       = "#FFC000";
+static const char col_black[]       = "#000000";
+static const char col_white[]       = "#ffffff";
 static const char *colors[][3]      = {
 	/*               fg         bg         border   */
-	[SchemeNorm] = { col_gray3, col_gray1, col_gray2 },
-	[SchemeSel]  = { col_gray4, col_amber, col_amber },
+	[SchemeNorm] = { col_gray3, col_black, col_gray2 },
+	[SchemeSel]  = { col_black, col_amber, col_amber },
 };
 
 /* tagging */