Blair Imani
Introduction
Blair Imani (born Blair Elizabeth Brown) is an African-American Muslim activist. She is Executive Director of "Equality for HER", a feminist organisation. Imani is a member of the Black Lives Matter movement and is known for her voice on Twitter and Instagram and her role in protests in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and New York. Imani has written for The Huffington Post and VICE.
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.
Education and career
Imani graduated from Louisiana State University in 2015. In 2016, Imani has worked as a Press Officer for Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Blair Imani is presently the Civic Action & Campaign Lead at DoSomething.org, the largest tech company exclusively for young people and social change.
Activism in Baton Rouge
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, Imani was arrested with her partner Akeem Muhammad. In an interview with The Intercept, Imani detailed her encounter with Baton Rouge SWAT officers. In the interview she claimed she was trampled and threatened verbally. Imani was photographed screaming as she was carried away by special force officers.
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 from The Advocate, Imani said, "All violence is wrong," and that she's against all brutality, including violence against police officers.
Black and Muslim identity
During the run up to the 2016 Presidential election, Imani spoke about the intersection of Black and Muslim identity. After Donald Trump won the 2016 election, Imani stopped wearing hijab for several weeks out of fear of violence. In an interview with This American Life, Imani spoke about her fear during the night of the election as she stood in the middle of Times Square.
Imani appeared on MSNBC's The Point hosted by Ari Melber on April 2, 2017. She presented with activist Kwame Rose at the Harvard University Kennedy School's 2017 Black Policy Conference on the intersections of Black and Muslim identity.