diff --git a/MIGRATING.md b/MIGRATING.md
index 9c5a3c49..62b42fd4 100644
--- a/MIGRATING.md
+++ b/MIGRATING.md
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ In `v16` we're moving all colors to [primer/primitives](https://github.com/prime
 `v15` | `v16`
 --- | ---
 **Text** |
+`$text-black` | `var(--color-text-primary)`
 `$text-gray-dark` | `var(--color-text-primary)`
 `$text-gray` | `var(--color-text-secondary)`
 `$text-gray-light` | `var(--color-text-tertiary)`
diff --git a/src/base/normalize.scss b/src/base/normalize.scss
index 95931e70..6a1e3c10 100644
--- a/src/base/normalize.scss
+++ b/src/base/normalize.scss
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ h1 {
 
 mark {
   background-color: #ff0;
-  color: $text-black;
+  color: var(--color-text-primary);
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/markdown/headings.scss b/src/markdown/headings.scss
index 99d7cfcf..6b86ca2c 100644
--- a/src/markdown/headings.scss
+++ b/src/markdown/headings.scss
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
     line-height: $lh-condensed;
 
     .octicon-link {
-      color: $text-black;
+      color: var(--color-text-primary);
       vertical-align: middle;
       visibility: hidden;
     }
diff --git a/src/navigation/menu.scss b/src/navigation/menu.scss
index 7d61a59f..4756c980 100644
--- a/src/navigation/menu.scss
+++ b/src/navigation/menu.scss
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
   position: relative;
   display: block;
   padding: $spacer-2 $spacer-3;
-  color: $text-black;
+  color: var(--color-text-primary);
   border-bottom: $border-width $border-style $border-gray-light;
 
   &:first-child {
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@
   margin-bottom: 0;
   font-size: inherit;
   font-weight: $font-weight-bold;
-  color: $text-black;
+  color: var(--color-text-primary);
   border-bottom: $border-width $border-style $border-gray-light;
 
   &:hover {
diff --git a/src/navigation/sidenav.scss b/src/navigation/sidenav.scss
index c635eaf4..9cb85f73 100644
--- a/src/navigation/sidenav.scss
+++ b/src/navigation/sidenav.scss
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
   width: 100%;
   // stylelint-disable-next-line primer/spacing
   padding: 12px $spacer-3;
-  color: $text-black;
+  color: var(--color-text-primary);
   text-align: left;
   background-color: transparent;
   border: 0;
diff --git a/src/navigation/underline-nav.scss b/src/navigation/underline-nav.scss
index 01356ee8..2b2d85d0 100644
--- a/src/navigation/underline-nav.scss
+++ b/src/navigation/underline-nav.scss
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
   font-size: $body-font-size;
   // stylelint-disable-next-line primer/typography
   line-height: 30px;
-  color: $text-black;
+  color: var(--color-text-primary);
   text-align: center;
   white-space: nowrap;
   background-color: transparent;
diff --git a/src/support/variables/colors.scss b/src/support/variables/colors.scss
index 38ab72cd..ba3d50c8 100644
--- a/src/support/variables/colors.scss
+++ b/src/support/variables/colors.scss
@@ -40,7 +40,6 @@ $bg-yellow-light:   $yellow-200 !default;
 $bg-yellow-dark:    $yellow-700 !default;
 
 // Text colors
-$text-black:        $black !default;
 $text-orange:       $orange-900 !default;
 $text-orange-light: $orange-600 !default;
 $text-purple:       $purple !default;
@@ -60,3 +59,4 @@ $text-blue:         $blue-500 !default;
 $text-green:        $green-600 !default;
 $text-red:          $red-600 !default;
 $text-white:        $white !default;
+$text-black:        $black !default;