diff --git a/rich_msa/__init__.py b/rich_msa/__init__.py
index bbc5b2f..ffb6a60 100644
--- a/rich_msa/__init__.py
+++ b/rich_msa/__init__.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 class RichAlignment:
     """A `rich` renderable object to display a multiple sequence alignment."""
 
-    _DEFAULT = Style(color="gray30", bold=True)
+    _DEFAULT = Style(color="white", bold=True)
     _STYLES = {
         l: Style(color=c, bold=True)
         for ls, c in [