# Jahra Mckinney

The Blue Bird Inn on Detroit’s west side was the birthplace of bebop jazz and a hub for the city’s working-class Black community. Michelle Jahra McKinney gives us a tour of the venue, which closed 20 years ago but is now being revitalized as a music venue and archive. 

Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin all recorded at United Sound Systems in Detroit. The 1916 brick building that houses the studio was designated a historic landmark in 2015, but local preservationists are worried that may not be enough to protect it forever. Michelle Jahra McKinney of th…

“If it’s not there, you build it.” With that declaration, Jahra McKinney—Director and Director of Collections at the Detroit Sound Conservancy—steps into the Detroit Is Different studio and delivers a masterclass on legacy, love, and the power of preserving Black culture. In this rich conversation,…

The Detroit Sound Conservancy announced this week that it received a $1.9 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to support the organization's rehabilitation of Detroit's historic Blue Bird Inn. DSC Director Michelle Jahra McKinney and DSC Director of Operations Jonah Raduns-Silverstein join "The…