Detroiter Imani Mixon tells the city’s ‘urgent and essential’ culture stories on her terms

Detroit journalist Imani Mixon has written, recorded and filmed many pieces in her roughly 10 years in the industry, tapping into the city’s culture and sound for deep dives on Aaliyah , R&B’s evolution and techno’s history , to name a few. To her, the most important stories are the ones that center local Black women artists.

Mixon, a native Detroiter, will soon add “screenwriter” to an already extensive resume. She just finished writing her upcoming film “In Case of Apocalypse,” which is a recipient of the 2023 SFFILM Rainin Grant , a grant program that rewards independent narrative projects that address social justice issues with up to $25,000 in cash grants. Mixon, ​​who worked with co-writer and director Olivia Peace on the project, said it was another opportunity to uplift Black artists.

However, Mixon said journalism remains her passion. Alongside her upcoming film, she is preparing to launch her company Mixon Media as a platform to tell arts and culture stories while maintaining ownership of her work.

Mixon plans to host readings and other community events after Mixon Media goes live, set for summer.

I caught up with Imani to learn more about all these things and how she balances truth and beauty in her work.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Outlier: Why did you create Mixon Media?

Mixon: I think that is totally a risk, but also a passion to take that step. Detroit is such a contested place, locally, globally, politically, socially. (Most outlets) prioritize breaking news and investigative reporting.

While I am able to do both, and I have done both of those things, what naturally calls me are the conversations that artists, musicians, poets, writers, dancers and performers are having. I think the same stories you tell in breaking news packages, you can also tell in beautiful, flowing, long-form enterprise storytelling.

Up until this point, a lot of people have seen my byline associated with other publications, which I love and value in the city. But I think Mixon Media is a step toward full ownership and expression in the city and beyond.

But you aren’t “ just ” a writer, right?

No.

I went to school for magazine journalism. Long-form arts and culture writing is what I’ve dedicated most of my career to, but luckily enough, it lends itself to other forms. Going from writing a magazine article to producing a short film or a podcast is not so far away from writing my first feature film script.

For me, everything starts in a Google doc until it becomes something else. I don’t necessarily wake up in the morning and try to decide which medium I’ll engage with, but I do know that they’re all at my fingertips, and I want to use the breadth of my talents. That’s what Mixon Media will allow me to do.

What’s an example of you “using the breadth of your talents?”

My favorite thing that I produced this year is the film called “In Case of Apocalypse.” I co-wrote it with director Olivia Peace. It has not yet been released but will be soon. It really allowed me to flex every muscle that I gained as a magazine journalist, reporter, podcaster and short filmmaker in a small amount of time. I think it draws on things that I’ve covered more extensively in my writing as far as artistic expression, historical reverence and dreams for the future of Detroit.

Why do you center the experiences of Black women and independent artists in your work?

I don’t know that I necessarily had a choice. Being from Detroit, growing up in Detroit and watching our artistic output makes it very obvious that Black women are at the center of a lot of global arts and culture trends. So on top of being a Black woman, I’m also a Black woman from Detroit, so it just bled into the work that I do.

I know there are probably other ways to arrive at where I am at now. But I didn’t want to lie about my community from an “objective” place, especially if I am one of the Black women artists that I talk about. It was really about being up close to it, and seeing what I can learn from what people have gone through and shared with me in the arts and culture landscape.

You describe yourself as “equal parts urgent and equal parts essential.” What does that mean to you?

If I know for a fact that I’m not necessarily protected by one outlet or another, I have to create my own systems. What is it about me that stands out as an individual who’s also an entity to some extent?

If you’re looking for breaking news or investigative stories about crime in Detroit, you’re not necessarily coming to my page. You’re coming to feel things, to express yourself and to find other like-minded people. I feel like a lot of my readers are responding to some of the gaps in reporting that maybe some other legacy publications can’t fulfill. I take that responsibility extremely seriously.

The urgent and essential power is that it’s not breaking news, but it is on people’s minds, and (I’m) figuring out ways to talk about it in a generative way.

What do you hope to see in the media landscape regarding arts and culture reporting?

A lot of news organizations are doing the best that they can. I think a way that I’ve been able to cater more fully to who I am as a person and as a writer is by going about it in my own way. When you join an organization, the priority is the needs of the audience.

I think what the audience needs and what the writer needs are not necessarily always the same thing. I think this step in journalism requires that we expand our understanding of what news is and what newsmakers are. A lot of those things may happen outside the mainstream journalism network.

What Detroit neighborhood do you represent? What’s your favorite thing about it?

I’m from the eastside — the far eastside, touching Grosse Pointe. And I think (what I admire is that) we eastsiders stick together, and we follow through.

What’s the most important change you’d like to see in the city?

I would like to see the city be able to sustain artists as they progress in their creative, professional and social endeavors without reliance upon major developers. Artists in Detroit need to be paid more. There should be more employment opportunities between being an emergent artist and a legacy artist.

Ideally, artists would be nourished, respected and compensated at each step of the artist development process. If artists can’t afford (to live) where they live, they can’t afford to create.

Who or what in your community do you admire most?

I genuinely admire Black women artists in Detroit. We’ve found ways to redefine what success and sustainability look like in a very short amount of time. And we’ve been able to pivot as soon as we identify spaces that are no longer safe or helpful for us.

Editor’s note: Imani Mixon previously wrote for Outlier Media and Detour Detroit.

Correction: A previous version of this story described upcoming film “In Case of Apocalypse” as a short thriller. It will be feature-length and is not in the thriller genre.

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