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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 30)[1]
EducationLouisiana State University
Known forActivism
MovementBlack Lives Matter
Websitehttps://blairimani.com

Blair Imani (born Blair Elizabeth Brown, October 31, 1993)[1] is an African-American Muslim author and activist. She was Executive Director of "Equality for HER", a now defunct feminist organisation.[2] She is a member of the Black Lives Matter movement, and is known for her voice on Twitter and Instagram and for protesting the shooting of Alton Sterling and Executive Order 13769.[3] Imani has written for HuffPost and VICE.[4][5]

Imani gained recognition for her arrest following the shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and her continued activism at the intersection of Black and Muslim identity.[6]

Education and career

Imani graduated from Louisiana State University in 2015.[7]

In 2016, she worked as a Press Officer for Planned Parenthood Action Fund.[8] She is presently the Civic Action & Campaign Lead at DoSomething.org, the largest tech company exclusively for young people and social change.[9][10]

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."[11][12][13][14][15][16]

Activism in Baton Rouge

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 peacefully protesting, she was arrested with her partner Akeem Muhammad.[17] 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, one officer ordered: "really give it to her," and another officer removed her hijab.[18]

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.[19]


Black and Muslim identity

Imani converted to Islam in 2015 following feelings of discomfort in Christian churches and finding solace within Islam. [20]

Describing her decision to change her name, she explained that she chose the name Imani "because 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." [21]

During the run up to the 2016 presidential election, Imani spoke about the intersection of Black and Muslim identity.[22]

Imani waited one year after converting to wear the hijab[23] and briefly stopped wearing it following the 2016 election.[24]

She appeared on MSNBC's The Point hosted by Ari Melber on April 2, 2017.[25] She presented with activist Kwame Rose at the Harvard University Kennedy School's 2017 Black Policy Conference[26] on the intersections of Black and Muslim identity.[27]

In June 2017, Imani appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight where she advocated safe spaces on college campuses for Muslims, LGBT people, and other minorities, "where you can be who you are without fear of being surveilled, having violence committed against you or being harassed".[28]

Personal life

Imani came out as queer in June 2017.[29] 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.[30]

References

  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. ^ Corkins, Matthew (February 19, 2017). "In Trump Era, Islam's Tolerance Helps Restless Activist Survive". Observer. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Imani, Blair. "Why activist Blair Imani will no longer wear hijab post-Trump". i-D. Vice Media. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  5. ^ Imani, Blair (August 10, 2016). "One Month Ago In Baton Rouge". HuffPost. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  6. ^ Bynum-Reid, Dierra (March 22, 2017). "Discussing the Resistance with Blair Imani". The 405. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Mackey2016-07-14T15:35:14+00:00, Robert MackeyRobert. "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. ^ "Donald Trump Bragged About Sexual Assault — But We Won't Let Him Normalize It". www.plannedparenthoodaction.org. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  9. ^ "Our Team | DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change". www.dosomething.org. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  10. ^ "How to be an activist (no experience required)". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  11. ^ Imani, Blair (October 16, 2018). "Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History". penguinrandomhouseeducation.com. Ten Speed Press. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  12. ^ "Blair Imani's "Modern HERstory" changes the narrative of social justice to include women and nonbinary notables". GLAAD. 2018-11-27. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  13. ^ Winter, Kevin. "Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History". San Francisco Book Review. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  14. ^ Williams, Austin (August 8, 2018). "'Modern HERstory' Amplifies the Voices of Unsung Activists". Complex. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Schembri, Pamela. "Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  17. ^ "Baton Rouge Protester On Arrest: 'I Didn't Know If I Was Going To Survive'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  18. ^ Imani, Blair. ""One Month Ago in Baton Rouge"". Louisiana Anthology. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  19. ^ Allen, Rebekah. "Woman arrested in Alton Sterling protests is key organizer of fallen officers vigil". The Advocate. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  20. ^ Hagen, Sofie. ""60. Blair Imani - They Took My Hijab Away"". Made of Human Podcast. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  21. ^ Aguilera, Ramsey. ""Life as a Queer Muslim in 2019 with Blair Imani"". Youtube. Youtube. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Times Square". This American Life. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  23. ^ Hagen, Sofie. ""60. Blair Imani - They Took My Hijab Away"". Made of Human Podcast. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  24. ^ Corkins, Matthew. "In Trump Era, Islam's Tolerance Helps Restless Activist Survive". Observer. Observer. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  25. ^ "Growing Up Trump: The next generation speaks out". MSNBC. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  26. ^ "2017 Black Policy Conference Workshop: Black and Muslim: Organizing at the Intersection". blackpolicyconference.com. Harvard Kennedy School. April 8, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  27. ^ "Blair Imani". blackpolicyconference.com. Harvard Kennedy School. April 8, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  28. ^ "Tucker Takes on Activist Who Supports Taxpayer-Funded Muslim 'Safe Spaces'". Fox News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  29. ^ Imani, Blair (24 August 2017). "Blair Imani gets real about queer Muslim representation, shares exclusive "The Bold Type" clip". GLAAD. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  30. ^ 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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