HomeBlocksFront-TopSan Marino Author to Speak at Book Festival

San Marino Author to Speak at Book Festival

First published in the April 21, print issue of the San Marino Tribune.

San Marino author Blair Imani will appear on Sunday at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books as a member of a panel that will discuss Current Issues: Imagining a Different Future. Imani, an L.A. Times bestselling author for her most recent book “Read This to Get Smarter,” will appear in the Norris Theatre on Sunday, April 24, from 1:30-2:30 p.m.

A 2012 graduate of San Marino High School, Imani graduated from Louisiana State University in 2015 with a degree in history. She is an author, public speaker, and an intersectional anti-oppression educator using social media to grow understanding and compassion.

Other books Imani has authored include “Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream” (2020) and “Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History” (2018).

Imani will be presenting to the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she will be discussing the importance of and strategies toward improving social connection, social-emotional learning, wellness, self-care and a sense of community within schools.

“I would be honored to work similarly with SMUSD, if they’ll have me, of course,” she said.

Imani also participated in a Black Lives Matter rally that took place in San Marino in June 2020, shortly after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

There, she explained the frustrations of being a member of a minority in San Marino, where she said she was often asked by classmates whether she “belonged” in the town or questioned whether or not her parents could afford a home in the city.

“As the discussions around critical race theory, diversity and inclusion surge on, I would like to elevate the following,” she said. “If Black children are old enough to experience racism, then white children are old enough to learn about it.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular

[bsa_pro_ad_space id=3]

27