Episode 7

Michelle Jahra McKinney is the Director of Detroit Sound Conservancy and an archivist, librarian, singer, and griot/community historian. Her mission is to make cultural history come alive and accessible to all. As a Detroiter, she has pursued this mission for over 50 years. She holds a master’s in library and information Sciences from Wayne State University and a certificate in archival administration. Today, she continues to bring the community together and help people express their beautiful legacies. She has performed widely, starting with her mother, pianist Jackie Mahome, and she has studied and performed African dance, folkloric music, and percussion in the Studio of African Dance troupe. She worked with her late husband, Harold McKinney, to produce his Detroit Jazz Heritage Performance Lab, and she continues to work with several community theaters, music ensembles, and nonprofit arts organizations. She is the founder of the women’s cappella vocal & shakeré group Hakamma, and she has won recognition as a touring solo storyteller in her original production, ‘Tales of the Summerland.” She has recorded as a lyricist and a featured vocalist on Gayelynn McKinney’s album of Harold McKinney compositions, “McKinfolk: a New Beginning.” The Detroit Sound Conservancy is currently in the process of rehabilitating the Blue Bird Inn. It was a historic building that was the epicenter of jazz music and housed giants such as John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis, to name a few. We talk with Michelle about her experience growing up in Detroit, how she hopes the rehabilitation of the Blue Bird Inn will revive the rich arts and culture of the Midwest-Tireman neighborhood, and how important it is to preserve it for future generations.