Featuring Special Guest Blair Imani
2025 MSEA Racial Social Justice Summit
Critically acclaimed historian, author, educator, and influencer Blair Imani was the featured guest speaker at MSEA’s Annual Racial Social Justice Summit held May 3 and hosted by MSEA’s Human and Civil Rights Committee, chaired by Kierre Vinson and Jorge Córdoba. Imani is the author of Read This to Get Smarter: about Race, Class, Gender, Disability, and More and Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream. She’s also the creator of Smarter in Seconds, where she posts lively content on intersectionality, race, and social justice on her social media @blairimani. She’s dedicated to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities.
In addition to Imani, the summit included workshops about mutual aid, the history of unions and racial social justice, the criminalization of Black girls, the power of picture books in creating inclusive classrooms, and more.
“The relevance of these workshops opened important doors for our members as educators and activists,” said MSEA President Paul Lemle. “When our union can serve as the source and organizing agent of information on issues that deeply affect our students and communities, we are truly leading.”
“The most valuable aspect of the conference for me was all of the knowledge to be gained. Everybody was very knowledgeable and provided valuable information, raising the bar for the summit,” said one attendee. “I am in love with Ms. Imani’s book!” said another. “Collaborating with other educators and learning from their experiences was wonderful. The most valuable aspect was networking and receiving information through a new lens.