Mississippi Native: Birney Imes

"I’ve been other places where I’ve thought I could live happily. No, it’s not duty that keeps me here; this is where I want to be."

What does it mean to call Mississippi home? Why do people choose to leave or live in this weird, wonderful, and sometimes infuriating place? Birney Imes is a fourth generation Columbus, Mississippian, best known for his internationally acclaimed photographs filled with, as one writer put it, “the characters and locales that linger in the margins of Southern memory and culture.” His book Juke Joint compiles sixty color photos of juke joints taken between 1983-1989 during Birney’s travels throughout the Delta. In the mid-1990s, he took over The Commercial Dispatch, his family’s local newspaper, where he served as editor and publisher for more than two decades. Today, Birney shares what keeps him rooted in Mississippi and how his childhood impulse toward exploration has served him throughout his life.

Birney Imes lives in Columbus, Mississippi.

Where are you from?

Columbus

How long have you lived in Mississippi?

Except for college, virtually all my life

What does “home” mean to you? How does Mississippi fit into that definition? 

Our family has lived in Columbus for at least five generations. It is not uncommon for me to run into someone who has a story about one of my siblings (I am the oldest of six), my parents, or even my grandparents. These encounters are welcome reminders of my connection to this place.

Most days I walk early in the morning. On those walks, I am often visited by the ghosts of loved ones. Historic buildings, like those in downtown Columbus, trigger memories. I knew them in their earlier incarnations. I often walk across the old railroad trestle over the Tombigbee River, something we did as kids. My walks sometimes take me to Friendship Cemetery where I have lots of friends and family. They are my roots and, in many cases, the shoulders I’ve stood on.

How have you cultivated community in Mississippi? Who are the people who have made you feel rooted here? 

Our family has run the local newspaper for four generations now. For more than two decades I was its editor and publisher. During that time I wrote a weekly column about local people and local issues, more than 1,000 columns. Six years ago our son, Peter, succeeded me in that position. We’ve tried to provide a caring, thoughtful, local newspaper for the communities we serve. 

In 2021, I curated two photography shows for the Do Good Fund of Columbus, Georgia, one at the art gallery of Mississippi University for Women and the other at the Columbus Arts Council in downtown Columbus.

Most recently I helped put together a photography show for a small museum in West Point—the Black Prairie Blues Museum (September and October, 2024). They are beautiful photographs of obscure country blues players made by a German friend. The museum is run by a small group of volunteers, who are selflessly devoted to the idea of providing a cultural outlet for their town.

The people who make me feel rooted? Family and friends, some since childhood and some more recent. About eight years ago I took up kayaking. Since then I’ve become part of a diverse group of paddlers. We—there are about seven or eight of us—have developed close friendships, both on and off the water.