Blair Imani

Imani graduated from Louisiana State University (LSU) in 2015.[3]

During her time at LSU, Imani founded an organization called Equality for HER, or Health Education Resources, in 2014. Equality for HER is a non-profit that provides resources and a forum for women and nonbinary people to feel empowered.[4] In 2016, she worked as a Press Officer for Planned Parenthood Action Fund.[5] She is presently the Civic Action & Campaign Lead at DoSomething.org, the largest tech company exclusively for young people and social change.[6][7]

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."[8][9][10][11][12][13]

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 was arrested with her partner Akeem Muhammad.[14] 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.[3]

While being detained, one officer ordered: "really give it to her," and another officer removed her hijab.[15]

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.[16]

Imani converted to Islam in 2015 following feelings of discomfort in Christian churches and finding solace within Islam.[17] Before converting, Imani was involved in Black Lives Matter protests. This protest was taking place right after the 2015 Chapel Hill Shooting, so Imani decided to contact all nearby Mosques, and fight for both black lives, and the rights and safety of Muslims in America. This connection helped spark the idea of converting to Islam. She would also read the Quran, and used this to help further her connection to god.[18]

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." [19]

Imani waited one year after converting to wear the hijab[17] and briefly stopped wearing it following the 2016 U.S. election.[20]

Imani accidentally came out as queer in June 2017 on national conservative show Tucker Carlson Tonight. On the show, she was talking about fighting for communities, one of which was the LGBTQ community, when she was cut off. 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." This caused both positive and negative uproars from multiple communities. Imani received both death threats and words of encouragement.[21][22] 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.[23]

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