Read This to Get Smarter

Introduction

Welcome! Thank you for being here. My name is Blair Imani, and I am an author, educator, and historian. I firmly believe that learning is a blessing, and my life is dedicated to learning and helping others learn. First things first: you are already smart. Intelligence is the ability to learn and apply information, and that is something that we all do every day. Even though we are already smart, we can always get smarter about the world, topics we re not deeply familiar with, and the lived experiences of other people. Read This to Get Smarter explores how we can become more informed, compassionate, and intentional as we work to better understand ourselves, others, and the systems around us. Getting smarter is a journey, not a destination, and a great deal of our journey will involve unlearning. Patience, mutual respect, and perseverance are important tools to carry along the way.

It might be frustrating to realize that we will never be done in our learning journeys, but it s also exciting because we can constantly transform our perspectives as more accurate information becomes available. Many of the understandings we have been taught and socialized to believe are based on the assumptions of long dead European colonizers who worked to maintain systems of supremacy and dominance instead of presenting fact, evidence, or truth. If we do not prioritize getting smarter, then we deny ourselves the full complexity of the human experience and instead subsist on inadequate and harmful assumptions. It is not my intention to present solutions to the myriad consequences of these assumptions instead, I offer a starting place to achieve a shared understanding. Inspired by Smarter in Seconds, my viral thirty-second microlearning video series, Read This to Get Smarter utilizes my signature concision to make abstract and theoretical concepts more concrete in a well-researched, well-presented, and accessible manner. I do my best to educate others from a

Blair Imani is a critically-acclaimed historian, author, educator, and influencer. Her scholarship spans the subjects of gender studies, race and racism, sociology, intersectionality, and U.S. history. She is the author of Read This to Get Smarter about Race, Class, Gender, Disability, and More; Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream; and Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History. The New York Times praised her unique ability to create “progressive lessons with vibrant visuals and a perky, quirky delivery.” Her work centers women and girls, global Black communities, and the LGBTQ+ community. As an educator and influencer, semi-retired organizer, and public speaker, Blair Imani is dedicated to making the world a better place and amplifying the voices and work of those fighting the good fight.

Blair Imani is the teacher I wish I d had at school, and the educator I'm grateful to learn from now. Read This to Get Smarter is a book the world sorely needs. Written in her signature style that blends deep learning with ease and approachability, Blair answers the questions that so many of us are asking ourselves. This book helps plug the gaps of understanding that so many of us have and supports us in becoming better human beings and better ancestors. Layla F. Saad, author of Me and White Supremacy

As a young educator at Planned Parenthood, Blair Imani demonstrated her passion for teaching and building community. In Read This to Get Smarter, Blair provides a roadmap to better understanding the most important issues in our culture today, including race, class, gender, and disability. She approaches these important topics with humility and provides readers with the tools they need to get smarter. Cecile Richards, former president, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Blair Imani writes about identity with a singular wit and accessibility that makes Read This to Get Smarter an essential guide for curious people of any age. The twenty-first century offers us countless opportunities to look foolish in very avoidable ways, in front of lots of people but thankfully, Blair is here to help. Jamal Jordan, author of Queer Love in Color

If you want a deeper understanding of the multi-layer universe of people with disabilities, this book is a great place to start. Jillian Mercado, model, actor, and founder of Black Disabled Creatives

Blair Imani s Read This to Get Smarter is a necessary guide for anyone committed to justice in their personal and political lives. Imani approaches readers with a deep kindness and offers them concrete tools for thinking anew about race, gender, class, and sexuality, and for imagining a different kind of world. Jennifer C. Nash, author or Black Feminism Reimagined

I did indeed read