From being part of someone else’s Black history to creating her own Black History
Midnight Magazine was established in 2023, created by Destiny Udoh and designed by Hannah Lewis. This magazine is an opportunity to provide a platform for Black creatives to share their unique experiences in an attempt to hold space and amplify their voices.
The Black identity is not one that can be put in a boxed. It is not one that can be easily defined by throwing one designated meaning to it. It is complex, beautiful, contained small particles and mixed with a variety of ingredients that are sometimes unable to pinpoint. Being Black is not a phase or a trend. It is our culture, our share experiences, our ability to dissect and understand each other in ways only us can do. Creating space for us to be us, to feel safe without having to apologized for us is a need that will only uplift us. Destiny Udoh created Midnight Magazine for this reason. She saw a need and decided that she would fulfill such needs. Like all the similar magazines that have paved the way for her; we fully support her on this journey and will gladly basked in her success.
The Founder and Editor
Destiny Udoh started Midnight Magazine to combine her passions of advocacy, relationship building, and organization For years she had been a part of other people’s Black History Month initiatives, but in 2023 she embarked on her own journey to create her own Black history not knowing what it fully entailed. Destiny proudly turned her impulsive idea into a reality. For Destiny, providing this platform is a form of liberation. It is an opportunity to encourage Black creatives to share their gifts with the world. Liberation to Destiny is being released from the social and historical pressures that have made her feel that her, and people that look like her are less beautiful, less intelligent or less than. Destiny struggled most of her life to make connections with others in the Black community which stems from her inability to truly embrace who she is. Destiny is now finding herself involve in exploring all of her intersecting identities, and developing her own sense of community. She is grateful to have come to realize that no one can take away her race, culture, or history. Creating this magazine has required her to do the internal work, by recognizing that she has the voice and the power to elevate others in her community. Destiny believe that one of the reasons God has called her on this earth is to take up space, and to share it with others.
“Leading my own initiative, and providing this space of my own, has helped me prove to myself that I am capable of a lot more than I thought”
-Destiny Udoh
The Interview
Question : What drove you to embark on the journey of creating and distributing this magazine?
Answer: I would have never previously considered myself a creative person, but one thing I am, is a visionary. My vision with this magazine was to create a hobby out of doing some of the things I enjoy the most: community building, supporting and empowering others, and project management.
Question: How did you come up with the concept?
Answer: The idea first came to mind through a conversation I was having with one of my best friends. We were talking about how I felt like I needed to seek my greater purpose, and in doing so, I came to the realization that whatever initiative I took part in, I wanted it to be my own. Going back and forth brainstorming ideas, we talked about how cool it’d be if I made a magazine. Initially it started as more of a joke because the concept seemed so far out of reach; immediately I didn’t think I had the money, time, energy, or motivation. But after putting some more thought into it, I started to think through the logistics to see if this was something I was capable of. That same day, I had drafted a project plan outlining what the content of the magazine would include, which key deliverables I would need to get started with, and in what timeline I wanted to get it done. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do it alone, so I had explained the concept to my friend and designer Hannah Lewis, and she played a huge role in executing this passion project with me.
Question: What was your biggest challenge then and now?
Answer: Throughout the process, I’d say I faced quite a few challenges, the biggest one being that we were a 2-person team who both had other full-time obligations. This meant constantly altering our timelines, and often biting off more than we could chew. The biggest lesson I learned from this was that 2-people taking on marketing, project management, designing, conducting interviews, networking, and keeping up
communications with models/business owners/supporters, was ambitious, to say the least. The biggest challenge I’m facing now is figuring out how to keep up the excitement between the launch of our first edition, and putting a team together for the second edition. Also, a requirement for me going forward is solidifying funding before planning out what’s next, as I believe in the importance of compensating people for their work, something I wasn’t able to do in this first go-round; this is another challenge I’m currently trying to work through.
Question: How did it feel when you were able to complete this project and view the finished product?
Answer: I never stopped to take a moment to admire our accomplishment until it was completed, until I was able to hold the first copy in my hands. At that moment, everything seemed surreal. For me, being a 22-year old who just finished my undergrad and just started my first full-time job, I have never been so proud of myself. I’d assumed that I’d feel a sense of relief in that I could now sit back and let our work speak for itself. But surprisingly enough, I skipped this step and went straight into feelings of excitement for what’s to come.
Question: Who or what is your greatest motivation?
Answer: My family, my friends, and my boyfriend have all provided me unconditional love and support throughout this process, which has acted as my greatest motivation. At times when I felt that I was in over my head, I had a village full of people who provided me with the encouragement I needed to get through.
Question: How did you go about choosing the people that are featured in your magazine?
Answer: My main objective in choosing my models was intentionality. I carefully curated a group of people whose stories I believed deserved a platform to be shared, and whose beauty has shined through their personalities, their words, and their styles. My models consisted of both close friends, and people within my network who I have met in passing, and whom I wanted to connect more with. I am beyond grateful to have started my journey with such an amazing group of individuals, and looking back I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Question: What is your goal for this magazine?
Answer: My goal for this magazine is to continue to cultivate a space where I can work with Black creators to share their stories, and to elevate the meaning of Black excellence.
Question: How have you dealt with negativities and setbacks that usually occur when bringing an idea into fruition?
Answer: Fortunately I wasn’t met with any resistance externally when sharing my idea with others. However, there was quite a bit of self-doubt that I had imposed on myself along the way that made it that much more difficult for me to execute my vision. I’d say I overcame these setbacks by looking to the work of other creatives, and generating as much empowerment from that as possible. This helped me realign with my goals and objectives.
Question: In your magazine, you focused on specific topics; Black beauty, Black Love, Black art. What do these things mean to you and what was so significant in bringing focus to these topics?
Answer: The way I saw it, being successful with this first edition required simplicity. I never intended to overpower the content, rather I wanted the magazine to speak for itself. I wanted each topic to encompass a broader umbrella, to allow my models to find themselves within their section, and decide how they wanted to bring their experiences into the conversation.
Question: How do you think we as the Black community can positively uplift and support each other?
Answer: One thing I had never anticipated in this process was having as many people support me as I did. In creating relationships with people I barely know, I didn’t expect to be met with such encouragement and kind words. With that I will say, advertising the work of others with your network, and letting them know what their project or business means to you, goes a long way.
Question: What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you?
Answer: As a first time creator, the best advice that I received was to take all the time I needed upfront to create the product that I had envisioned. In that same breath, my friend went on to explain that I had an advantage by the fact that people didn’t know what to expect from me. I was told that for any projects that followed, my viewers would have an idea of what to look out for, so it was crucial for me to set the stage from the beginning, in order to build out my own legacy. Although simple, this advice was a good reference point for me along the way.
Question: What does success mean to you?
Answer: I never measured the success of the magazine through the number of copies sold or the number of followers to our Instagram account. For me, generating success meant creating something I was proud of, and making meaningful connections along the way.
Question: What does being and advocacy for Black voices mean to you?
Answer: Advocating for Black voices to me means bringing them to a space where they will be acknowledged, heard, and supported. I believe that there are so many stories to be shared within our community that aren’t given the right platform to do so; my advocacy aims to hold this space, to hear and uplift one voice at a time.
Question: You’ve mentioned in your introduction about “feeling of not being Black enough”. Could you elaborate?
Answer: I always felt that my race resembled a card that people could give to me, just as easily as they could take away from me. Growing up, being ‘white washed’ was a label that people assigned to me based on which music I listened to, what hairstyles I wore, and how much history I knew, among many other things. So when I say that I was made to feel that I wasn’t Black enough, it’s because I was surrounded by people, and the media that taught me that there was only one way to be Black. Pushing past this and defining Blackness for myself meant identifying that Black people came from all walks of life, with different skin tones, passions, knowledge, etc. Once I was able to find confidence in who I was and how I chose to celebrate both of my races, I found liberation within myself.
“My generation is filled with so many innovators and visionaries, so to be one of the many voices to make an impact in the literature world would mean inspiring others to pave a path of their own; this would bring me a sense of fulfillment“.
–Destiny Udoh
Question: How does it feel to occupy your own space without having to compromise or apologize?
Answer: Leading my own initiative, and providing this space of my own, has helped me prove to myself that I am capable of a lot more than I thought. Having the autonomy to decide what and who the magazine contained, how I wanted to share it, and ultimately having the final say in the entire process, has been such an incredible experience. If anything, it’s given me the motivation I needed to want to expand the Midnight brand.
Question: How do you feel about the underrepresentation of Black individuals or racialized people in mass media?
Answer: It’s apparent that Black people are underrepresented in all spaces, especially in mass media. The fact that often Black people are rarely portrayed as more than a stereotype is disappointing. This underrepresentation leads to a lack of awareness for those outside of
the community, in understanding how each Black person has their own individuality that cannot be illustrated based off of a template.
Question: If you could interview/ feature anyone in your magazine who would it be and why?
Answer: Issa Rae is a creator who demonstrates through her content that she is dedicated to being unapologetically herself. It seems like she is constantly owning her quirks and using them as inspiration for her work. Issa’s words have inspired me to find the creator within myself without even knowing her, so it would be a blessing to have the opportunity to interview her.
Question: What does it mean to you to be able to bring voice to a generation and leave a permanent mark on the literature world?
Answer: My generation is filled with so many innovators and visionaries, so to be one of the many voices to make an impact in the literature world would mean inspiring others to pave a path of their own; this would bring me a sense of fulfillment.
Question: What advice would you give to future entrepreneurs?
Answer: My advice to future entrepreneurs is to embrace each challenge as a lesson, and to accept support where it’s offered as it can help bring you to where you need to be.
Question: Who is your favourite author and what are you reading right now if anything?
Answer: Being newer to the literature world, I am still trying to figure out who my favourite author is, and in doing so I have drafted an extensive reading list for 2023, specifically based on novels written by Black authors. Currently I’m reading Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, which is a novel filled with short stories that are all meant to exemplify the daily forms of oppression and violence that Black men and women face in America.
“Generating success meant creating something I was proud of, and making meaningful connections along the way”.
–Destiny Udoh
Contact Information:
IG: @the.midnightmagazine
Gmail: ogmidnightmag@gmail.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/destiny-udoh-499263203
We would like to extend a special thank you to Destiny for sharing her experience with us. It was such a pleasure getting to know her. We wish Destiny and the Midnight Magazine nothing but success. We are looking forward to see what the future holds for her.