Today, I'm joined by MIKE JACKSON, co-founder of the Get Lifted Film Co. (with John Legend and Ty Stiklorious), the Emmy-winning producer of films and TV series like ‘Underground’, ‘Rhythm + Flow’, ‘Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey’, ‘Southside with You’, 'Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children', 'Stand Up & Shout: Songs from a Philly High School', the 2019 ‘Jesus Christ Superstar Live and Concert’ event, and so many more, and the host of a great podcast of his own called Why Not Me? (which you can find a link to below).

 Mike's films, TV, and documentaries are almost all socially conscious, very often preoccupied by social justice, and, with just a few exceptions, explore the entirety of the Black American experience — good, bad, beautiful, painful, joyous.

5AM StoryTalk would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which this podcast is recorded, the Djarra people of the Kulin Nation and pay respects to Elders past and present.

A BONUS EPISODE, exclusive to 5AM StoryTalk’s bad-ass paid subscribers, is also available via Apple Podcasts and ⁠Substack: https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/bonus-episode-mike-jackson-talks⁠

In it, Mike discusses two seminal pieces of art from his life — Kwame Brathwaite’s photographs of the Jackson 5 and Muhammad Ali, both taken on the coast of Africa in 1974. Brathwaite popularized the term “Black is beautiful” during the Civil Rights Movement, and I assure you by the end of this bonus chat, you’ll understand what he meant by that — and why Mike has embraced that message his whole life.

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Show notes. Mike and I discuss the following and much more:

• The pivotal moments in his early life in Philadelphia that led him to “lean into” his Black identity as an adult and artist
• The entrepreneurial experiences in Philly that prepared him for his life as a film/TV producer

• The decisions that led to him forming Get Lifted Film Co. with John Legend and Ty Stiklorious
• The TV series 'Underground' and its culture-motivated cancelation, the release of the Obamas romantic drama 'Southside of You' just months before Trump was elected, and the role of documentaries at Get Lifted as a way to shine a light on issues and subjects that should be celebrated
• How the Get Lifted brand continues to evolve to react to the demands of Mike’s personal life and the tumultuous landscape that is the entertainment industry in 2025
• His candid thoughts on the performative “diversity” that was embraced by Hollywood before and after George Floyd’s murder and the state of the film/TV business today for filmmakers who seek to tell more diverse stories

Links:

• Learn more about Mike Jackson here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1685816/
• Listen to Mike’s podcast Why Not Me? here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-not-me-with-mike-jackson/id1751395437
• Learn more about Kwame Brathwaite here: https://kwamebrathwaite.com/

• Brathwaite's Ali photo here: https://kwamebrathwaite.com/artworks/5030-kwame-brathwaite-ali-gray-day-on-the-congo-1974-c.-printed-2017/
• Brathwaite's Jackson 5 photo here: https://kwamebrathwaite.com/artworks/5130-kwame-brathwaite-untitled-jacksons-on-boat-from-goree-island-1974-c.-printed-2018/
• My favorite Brathwaite photo here: https://kwamebrathwaite.com/artworks/7279-kwame-brathwaite-untitled-crowd-at-human-kindness-day-1975-c.-printed-2021/

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