diff --git a/bookwyrm/migrations/0144_alter_announcement_display_type.py b/bookwyrm/migrations/0144_alter_announcement_display_type.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..246dd5b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bookwyrm/migrations/0144_alter_announcement_display_type.py
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+# Generated by Django 3.2.12 on 2022-03-01 18:46
+
+from django.db import migrations, models
+
+
+def remove_white(apps, schema_editor):
+    """don't hardcode white announcements"""
+    db_alias = schema_editor.connection.alias
+    announcement_model = apps.get_model("bookwyrm", "Announcement")
+    announcement_model.objects.using(db_alias).filter(display_type="white-ter").update(
+        display_type=None
+    )
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ("bookwyrm", "0143_merge_0142_auto_20220227_1752_0142_user_hide_follows"),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AlterField(
+            model_name="announcement",
+            name="display_type",
+            field=models.CharField(
+                blank=True,
+                choices=[
+                    ("primary-light", "Primary"),
+                    ("success-light", "Success"),
+                    ("link-light", "Link"),
+                    ("warning-light", "Warning"),
+                    ("danger-light", "Danger"),
+                ],
+                max_length=20,
+                null=True,
+            ),
+        ),
+        migrations.RunPython(remove_white, reverse_code=migrations.RunPython.noop),
+    ]
diff --git a/bookwyrm/models/announcement.py b/bookwyrm/models/announcement.py
index cbed38ae..4581dbda 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/models/announcement.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/models/announcement.py
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ from .base_model import BookWyrmModel
 
 
 DisplayTypes = [
-    ("white-ter", _("None")),
     ("primary-light", _("Primary")),
     ("success-light", _("Success")),
     ("link-light", _("Link")),
@@ -28,11 +27,7 @@ class Announcement(BookWyrmModel):
     end_date = models.DateTimeField(blank=True, null=True)
     active = models.BooleanField(default=True)
     display_type = models.CharField(
-        max_length=20,
-        blank=False,
-        null=False,
-        choices=DisplayTypes,
-        default="white-ter",
+        max_length=20, choices=DisplayTypes, null=True, blank=True
     )
 
     @classmethod
diff --git a/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/announcement.html b/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/announcement.html
index ec1555d8..d9da01c9 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/announcement.html
+++ b/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/announcement.html
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {% load humanize %}{% load i18n %}{% load utilities %}
 {% with announcement.id|uuid as uuid %}
 <aside
-        class="notification mb-1 p-3{% if not admin_mode %} is-hidden{% endif %} transition-y has-background-{{ announcement.display_type }}"
+        class="notification mb-1 p-3{% if not admin_mode %} is-hidden{% endif %} transition-y {% if announcement.display_type %}has-background-{{ announcement.display_type }}{% endif %}"
     {% if not admin_mode %}data-hide="hide_announcement_{{ announcement.id }}"{% endif %}
 >
     <details>