Black women build AI Image Generator to ensure accurate representation in visuals

In a historic first for Women’s History Month, Create Labs Ventures partnered with TONL, the Black‑owned stock photography company co‑founded by Nigerian‑American social entrepreneur Karen Okonkwo, to launch the first AI image generator trained to create authentic, diverse photos of Black and Brown communities.

As AI‑generated images spread across media, advertising, and storytelling, this initiative ensures accurate and culturally grounded representation. It pushes back against biased algorithms that erase or distort Black and Brown people.

Black Women Build TONL AI Image Generator

The TONL Image Generator, part of the EMPWRD AI platform, allows brands, creators, and organizations to generate culturally accurate and inclusive images tailored to their needs. It ensures that diverse communities appear authentically in AI‑generated visuals.

TONL AI also includes:

• an AI social‑impact chatbot
• a document‑analysis tool for equitable, bias‑free AI research

Together, these tools support fair representation in emerging technologies.

DEI

The launch of the TONL x Create Labs AI Image Library and Generator arrives at a time when DEI initiatives face intense pushback across industries.

“This isn’t just about creating more diverse images,” says Abran Maldonado, co‑founder of Create Labs Ventures. “It’s about ensuring that communities of color have ownership over how they are represented in the technology shaping our future. AI has the power to cement our stories into history—or erase them. We’re here to make sure it’s the former.”

Explore the tool

Check out the Ai image generator tool here.