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Blair Imani

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Blair Imani
Blair Imani in 2018
Born
Blair Elizabeth Brown

(1993-10-31) October 31, 1993 (age 31)[1]
EducationLouisiana State University
Known forActivism
MovementBlack Lives Matter
Websitehttps://blairimani.com

Blair Imani (born Blair Elizabeth Brown, October 31, 1993)[1] is an American author, historian, and educator. She identifies as queer, Black, bisexual and Muslim. Since 2020 she has been known for creating and hosting the viral web series Smarter in Seconds.[2] In previous years, she came to popularity after her involvement with the Black Lives Matter movement and her unlawful arrest [3] while protesting the shooting of Alton Sterling. She also participated in protesting Executive Order 13769.[4]

Education and career

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Imani grew up in San Marino, California, and graduated from San Marino High School in 2012.[5][6] She graduated from Louisiana State University (LSU) with a degree in history in 2015.[5][7]

In 2014, during her time at LSU, Imani founded an organization called Equality for HER (Health Education Resources).[8] Equality for HER is a non-profit that provides resources and a forum for women and nonbinary people to feel empowered.[8] In 2016, she worked as a Press Officer for Planned Parenthood Action Fund.[9] She also worked as the Civic Action & Campaign Lead at DoSomething, a tech company for young people and social change.[10][11]

Imani is the author of Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History, published by Ten Speed Press on October 16, 2018. The book is illustrated by Monique Le and "spotlights 70 overlooked but important people of color, queer people, trans people, disabled people, and more who are changing the world this very moment."[12][13][14][15][16][17]

She is also the author of the illustrated history book Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream, published in January 2020. It is illustrated by Rachelle Baker and teaches about the Great Migration, black history, and "how privilege shows up in the way that we even depict black stories."[18]

In September 2020, Imani launched "Smarter In Seconds", a series of informational videos on Instagram Reels and TikTok around topics such as consent, discrimination, and environmental protection.[19]

Activism in Baton Rouge

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Blair Imani at Baton Rouge rally in protest of the police shooting of Alton Sterling

On July 10, 2016, in the aftermath of the shooting of Alton Sterling, Imani took part in a protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While protesting, she and her partner Akeem Muhammad were arrested.[20] In an interview with The Intercept, Imani detailed her encounter with Baton Rouge SWAT officers. She claimed that she was trampled and threatened verbally. She was photographed screaming as she was carried away by special force officers.[7]

While being detained, she alleges one officer ordered: "really give it to her," and that another officer removed her hijab.[21]

Less than a week after her arrest, Imani helped organize a vigil with the Louisiana State University Student Body Association in response to and in honor of the murder of three Baton Rouge police officers. In an article in The Advocate, she said, "All violence is wrong," and that she is against all brutality, including violence against police officers.[22]

Personal life

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After feelings of discomfort in Christian churches, Imani found solace and converted to Islam in 2015.[23] During the Black Lives Matter protests following the 2015 Chapel Hill shooting, Imani decided to contact nearby mosques to fight for both Black lives and the rights and safety of Muslims in America, which eventually led to her conversion. She stated she would read the Quran which helped further her connection with God.[24]

She changed her surname to Imani and explained that "Imani means 'my faith' and it's one of the days of Kwanzaa, it's also a Swahili word as well as an Arabic word, and I felt like it encapsulated my journey to Islam."[24] A year after converting she began wearing the hijab,[23] but briefly stopped wearing it following the 2016 presidential election as a precaution for her own safety.[25]

Imani came out as queer in June 2017 while making an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight. During the program, she spoke about fighting for communities, one of which was the LGBTQ community, when she was interrupted. The host, Tucker Carlson, stated "You're not here to speak on behalf of those communities." Blair responded "Well, Tucker Carlson, in addition to being a Muslim woman, I am a black, queer person." The announcement received both positive and negative reactions afterwards including death threats and words of encouragement.[26][27] After coming out, she said she received support "from queer Muslims and young people all over the world" and that she found solace in the representation of LGBT Muslims on The Bold Type.[28]

Works

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Year Title Publisher ISBN Notes
2018 Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History Ten Speed Press ISBN 9780399582233 Illustrated by Monique Le. This book "spotlights 70 overlooked but important people of color, queer people, trans people, disabled people, and more who are changing the world this very moment."
2020 Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream Random House ISBN 9781984856920 Illustrated history book. Illustrated by Rachelle Baker. This book teaches about the Great Migration, black history, and "how privilege shows up in the way that we even depict black stories".
2021 Read This to Get Smarter about Race, Class, Gender, Disability & More Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale ISBN 9781984860545 This book "helps readers become informed, compassionate and socially conscious through discussions on race, gender and sexual orientation to disability, class and beyond".

References

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  1. ^ a b Imani, Blair [@BlairImani] (October 28, 2018). "My birthday is on October 31, Halloween. I will be 25 this year" (Tweet). Retrieved October 29, 2018 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Shannon, Maggie. "Facts Served Up With Flair". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  3. ^ Easter, Katie. "Protesters arrested after death of Alton Sterling finally moving on after lawsuit settlement". WBRZ. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  4. ^ Florio, Gina M. (January 30, 2017). "Muslim Women You Should Be Following On Twitter, Because We Need Their Voices Now More Than Ever". Bustle. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Carter, Brian W. (February 20, 2020). "Author and Historian, Blair Imani Sheds Light on Great Migration". Los Angeles Sentinel. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  6. ^ "Hate messages targeted at San Marino students spark outrage". Pasadena Star News. 2020-06-14. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  7. ^ a b Mackey2016-07-14T15:35:14+00:00, Robert MackeyRobert (14 July 2016). "Baton Rouge Police Sued Over Arrest of Peaceful Protesters". The Intercept. Retrieved 2017-04-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b "The Black Muslim Activist Tearing Down the Boundaries Around Womanhood". www.vice.com. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  9. ^ "Donald Trump Bragged About Sexual Assault — But We Won't Let Him Normalize It". www.plannedparenthoodaction.org. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  10. ^ "Our Team". DoSomething.org. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  11. ^ "How to be an activist (no experience required)". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  12. ^ Imani, Blair (October 16, 2018). "Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History". penguinrandomhouseeducation.com. Ten Speed Press. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  13. ^ "Blair Imani's "Modern HERstory" changes the narrative of social justice to include women and nonbinary notables". GLAAD. 2018-11-27. Archived from the original on 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  14. ^ Winter, Kevin (24 January 2019). "Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History". San Francisco Book Review. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  15. ^ Williams, Austin (August 8, 2018). "'Modern HERstory' Amplifies the Voices of Unsung Activists". Complex. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  16. ^ Schreiber, Hope (October 10, 2018). "Author's parents go all out to celebrate the release of her 'Modern HERstory' book, and it's the sweetest thing Twitter has seen". Yahoo Lifestyle. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  17. ^ Schembri, Pamela. "Modern HERstory: Stories of Nonbinary people and women Rewriting History". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  18. ^ Mosley, Tonya (January 15, 2020). "'Making Our Way Home' Illustrates History Of African American Great Migration". www.wbur.org.
  19. ^ "Instagram Activist Blair Imani On Using Social Media To Educate". Bustle. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
  20. ^ "Baton Rouge Protester On Arrest: 'I Didn't Know If I Was Going To Survive'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  21. ^ Imani, Blair (August 10, 2016). "One Month Ago in Baton Rouge". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  22. ^ Allen, Rebekah. "Woman arrested in Alton Sterling protests is key organizer of fallen officers vigil". The Advocate. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  23. ^ a b Hagen, Sofie. "60. Blair Imani - They Took My Hijab Away". Made of Human Podcast. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  24. ^ a b Aguilera, Ramsey (January 3, 2019). "Life as a Queer Muslim in 2019 with Blair Imani". Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2020 – via Youtube.
  25. ^ Corkins, Matthew (19 February 2017). "In Trump Era, Islam's Tolerance Helps Restless Activist Survive". Observer. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  26. ^ Imani, Blair (24 August 2017). "Blair Imani gets real about queer Muslim representation, shares exclusive "The Bold Type" clip". GLAAD. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  27. ^ Imani, Blair (June 2019). "Queer & Muslim: nothing to reconcile - Blair Imani - TEDxBoulder". TED. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  28. ^ McNamara, Brittney (12 September 2017). "Blair Imani Opens Up About Being Queer, Black and Muslim". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
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