I did not use the darker text color in globalindex.css, which the homepage uses, because it is mainly intended for making it easier to read long passages of text, which the homepage and other index pages do not have. It should affect text in lists if they are not links, but all the examples you gave of lists were filled with links. If you prefer a more high contrast display with white text on a dark background, you can use the Darker color scheme.
I did not use the darker text color in globalindex.css, which the homepage uses, because it is mainly intended for making it easier to read long passages of text, which the homepage and other index pages do not have. It should affect text in lists if they are not links, but all the examples you gave of lists were filled with links. If you prefer a more high contrast display with white text on a dark background, you can use the Darker color scheme.