Detroit Narrative Agency

Detroit Narrative Agency seeks to shift the stories that are currently being told in and of Detroit in order to create narratives that move people toward justice. The stories that circulate about Detroit figure it as broken, violent, and in desperate need of being saved from its decline. Since Detroit’s 2014 emergence from bankruptcy, new narratives about Detroit surfaced: stories of white billionaire-led resurgence, scrappy entrepreneurs, and pioneering artists. These narratives rendered invisible a key political point: Detroit was saving itself, pushing back against marginalization and erasure. This Detroit has a vision for a liberated and just future. Detroit Narrative Agency amplifies these other Detroit stories. It incubates compelling stories to shift these dominant narratives in commercial media. It runs a fellowship program to support a cohort of Black and Brown filmmakers in Detroit to develop short films and community impact strategies.