Blair Imani | |
---|---|
Born | Blair Elizabeth Brown October 31, 1993 [1] |
Education | Louisiana State University |
Known for | Activism |
Movement | Black Lives Matter |
Website | https://blairimani.com |
Blair Imani (born Blair Elizabeth Brown, October 31, 1993) [1] is an American author, historian, and activist. She identifies as queer, Black, bisexual and Muslim. She is a member of the Black Lives Matter movement, and is known for protesting the shooting of Alton Sterling and Executive Order 13769. [2]
Imani graduated from Louisiana State University (LSU) in 2015. [3]
In 2014, during her time at LSU, Imani founded an organization called Equality for HER (Health Education Resources). [4] 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 also worked as the Civic Action & Campaign Lead at DoSomething, a tech company 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]
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." [14]
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. [15]
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. [16] 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, she alleges one officer ordered: "really give it to her," and that another officer removed her hijab. [17]
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. [18]
After feelings of discomfort in Christian churches, Blair found solace and converted to Islam in 2015. [19] 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. [20]
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." [20] A year after converting she began wearing the hijab, [19] but briefly stopped wearing it following the 2016 presidential election as a precaution for her own safety. [21]
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. [22] [23] 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 . [24]
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". |
In modern usage, hijab generally refers to various head coverings conventionally worn by many Muslim women. It is similar to the tichel or snood worn by Orthodox Jewish women, certain headcoverings worn by some Christian women, such as the mantilla, apostolnik and wimple, as well as the dupatta worn by many Hindu and Sikh women. While a hijab can come in many forms, it often specifically refers to a headscarf, wrapped around the head, covering the hair, neck and ears, but leaving the face visible. The use of the hijab has been on the rise worldwide since the 1970s and is viewed by many Muslims as expressing modesty and faith. There is a consensus among Islamic religious scholars that covering the head is either required or preferred, though some Muslim scholars and activists argue that it is not mandated.
Islamic clothing is clothing that is interpreted as being in accordance with the teachings of Islam. Muslims wear a wide variety of clothing, which is influenced not only by religious considerations, but also by practical, cultural, social, and political factors. In modern times, some Muslims have adopted clothing based on Western traditions, while others wear modern forms of traditional Muslim dress, which over the centuries has typically included long, flowing garments. Besides its practical advantages in the climate of the Middle East, loose-fitting clothing is also generally regarded as conforming to Islamic teachings, which stipulate that body areas which are sexual in nature must be hidden from public view. Traditional dress for Muslim men has typically covered at least the head and the area between the waist and the knees, while women's islamic dress is to conceal the hair and the body from the ankles to the neck. Some Muslim women also cover their face. However, other Muslims believe that the Quran does not mandate that women need to wear a hijab or a burqa.
Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also utilized secular, Western, or otherwise non-Muslim feminist discourses, and have recognized the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement.
Masih Alinejad is an Iranian-American journalist, author, and women's rights activist. Alinejad works as a presenter/producer at VOA Persian Service, a correspondent for Radio Farda, a frequent contributor for Manoto television, and a contributing editor for IranWire. Alinejad focuses on criticism of the status of human rights in Iran, especially women's rights in Iran. Time magazine named her among its 2023 honorees for Women of the Year.
The Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Chief of Police, as of March 8, 2018, was Murphy Paul.
Various styles of head coverings, most notably the khimar, hijab, chador, niqab, paranja, yashmak, tudong, shayla, safseri, carşaf, haik, dupatta, boshiya and burqa, are worn by Muslim women around the world, where the practice varies from mandatory to optional or restricted in different majority Muslim and non-Muslim countries.
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people, and promote anti-racism. Its primary concerns are incidents of police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. It started following the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Rekia Boyd, among others. The movement and its related organizations typically advocate for various policy changes considered to be related to black liberation. While there are specific organizations that label themselves simply as "Black Lives Matter," such as the Black Lives Matter Global Network, the overall movement is a decentralized network of people and organizations with no formal hierarchy. The slogan "Black Lives Matter" itself remains untrademarked by any group. Despite being characterized by some as a violent movement, the overwhelming majority of its public demonstrations have been peaceful.
DeRay Mckesson is an American civil rights activist, podcaster, and former school administrator. An early supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, he has been active in the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland and on social media outlets such as Twitter and Instagram. He has also written for HuffPost and The Guardian. Along with Johnetta Elzie, Brittany Packnett, and Samuel Sinyangwe, Mckesson launched Campaign Zero, a policy platform to end police violence. He is currently part of Crooked Media and hosts Pod Save the People.
Jennicet Gutiérrez is an activist for transgender rights and immigrant rights. A founding member of La Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, much of her activist work supports trans women detained for their immigration status. She was named on Out magazine's Out100 list in 2015. Gutiérrez is based in Los Angeles, California.
Assata's Daughters is an American black power organization of young radical African-American women and girls in Chicago, which operates through a Black, queer, feminist lens, that focuses on political education, organizing, and revolutionary services. The group is dedicated to radical liberatory activism in the tradition of Assata Shakur, a former member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). The organization is often criticised for this connection, as Assata Shakur was convicted of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and other crimes in 1977 in the murder of a New Jersey State Trooper.
Linda Sarsour is an American political activist. She was co-chair of the 2017 Women's March, the 2017 Day Without a Woman, and the 2019 Women's March. She is also a former executive director of the Arab American Association of New York. She and her Women's March co-chairs were profiled in Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People" in 2017.
On July 5, 2016, Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed by two Baton Rouge Police Department officers, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The officers, who were attempting to control Sterling's arms, shot Sterling to death, which was preceded by Salamoni threatening Sterling with his gun before Sterling was restrained, yelling that he would "shoot [Sterling] in the fucking head" if he moved. Police alleged that Sterling had reached for the loaded handgun in his pants pocket. Police were responding to a report that Sterling was selling CDs and that he had used a gun to threaten a man outside a convenience store. The owner of the store where the shooting occurred said that Sterling was "not the one causing trouble" during the situation that led to the police being called. The shooting was recorded by multiple bystanders.
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The Girls of Enghelab protests are protests against the compulsory hijab in Iran, part of the wider Iranian Democracy Movement. The protests were inspired by Vida Movahed, an Iranian woman known as the Girl of Enghelab Street, who stood in the crowd on a utility box on Enghelab Street in Tehran on 27 December 2017 during the 2017–2018 Iranian protests who tied a white headscarf, to a stick, and waved it to the crowd as a flag. She was arrested on that day and was released temporary on bail a month later, on 28 January 2018. Some people interpreted Movahed's action as being based on Masih Alinejad's call for White Wednesdays, a protest movement that the presenter at VOA Persian Television started in early 2017. Other women later re-enacted her protest and posted photos of their actions on social media. These women are described as the "Girls of Enghelab Street" and the "Girls of Revolution Street" in English sources. Some of the protesters however claim that they were not following Masih Alinejad's call. The protests intensified in 2022 due to the death of Mahsa Amini.
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