To say Blair Imani is a content material creator simply brushes the floor. Imani is an activist, historian, podcaster, and writer, too. She’s finest identified for her short-form content material and sequence Smarter in Seconds, which delivers succinct classes on social justice and historical past.
On the coronary heart of her work is activism, and in 2020, in gentle of the racial reckonings in the US, Imani discovered her work blowing up and her follower depend doubling after which tripling in a single day. Now with 173.9K followers on TikTok and 859K followers on Instagram, we spoke with Blair Imani on her rise as a content material creator whereas attending VidCon 2025.
Credit score: Blair Imani / Mashable Composite
As a creator, what was your expertise in gaining a following? Was it one video that basically took off? Or a gradual and regular construct?
It was principally 2020, you understand, again when everybody all of the sudden realized in a single day that racism was an enormous difficulty that we must always all care about and discuss it. There have been these hashtags like #sharemelanatedvoices and #shareblackvoices.
And previous to that, I had been concerned within the motion for Black Lives, and I used to be additionally principally a historian who would visitor lecture at completely different universities. I used to be speaking about how we are able to successfully increase our voices, and why half the nation appears to be pissed off, and why the opposite half appears to be apathetic.
And actually in a single day, I went from having 50,000 followers to 150,000 followers the subsequent day, 250,000 followers. And it is simply this reminder that, you understand, all of us do not go viral in a single day, however you must sort of function in a manner the place you are ready for such an inevitability or a chance as a result of you must meet that chance along with your preparation and that is the way you get success.
And that sudden improve in followers, did that change your technique in any respect? Or had been posting as you at all times had been?
I believe it made me take myself extra significantly. And I believe for lots of us who’ve been concerned in politics and activism, we thought, oh, you possibly can’t ever do influencing or content material creation and do politics.
However that is actually modified from the place we had been 5 or 10 years in the past. I sort of felt pressured to be like different content material creators, posting my outfits and stuff like that. After which I needed to get again to my roots, which was individuals wanting to look at my movies ‘trigger they wanna find out about race, they wanna find out about gender, they wanna find out about the best way to be extra compassionate.
And so I’ve to remain true to what I began doing. Generally you must lean in your viewers that will help you be reminded of why you bought began within the first place.
Completely, and your activism and values are on the coronary heart of your content material. How does that form your work?
One of many issues I care about essentially the most is the mixture of lived expertise and experience. So if I am doing a video about limb variations, I wanna be working with individuals who have limb variations. Individuals whose our bodies may look completely different from normative expectations.
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If I am doing a video on Down syndrome, I wanna be that includes content material creators who’ve Down Syndrome. And I believe that is an enormous a part of the activism as a result of there may be the phrase from the incapacity rights motion, which is, “Nothing about us without us,” and that basically is what drives my work. I like that includes different individuals in my present Smarter in Seconds.
It makes the work a lot deeper after which it additionally makes the networks deeper, after which you do not really feel as remoted as a content material creator.
Your content material handles such huge and vital subjects, and also you’re turning them into quick type content material. How do you handle to make them each academic and interesting on the similar time?
So I’ve ADHD and that has been the very best life hack in doing content material creation as a result of if I am bored modifying my video, I am gonna be bored watching it. So it means having progressive hooks, it means not saying issues like, “Here’s some things you might wanna consider when it comes to race” and as an alternative “Here’s four things you should stop saying if you don’t wanna sound racist.”
You are catching individuals off guard after which additionally answering questions. So for instance, after Kendrick [Lamar’s] Tremendous Bowl efficiency, one of many high searches on Google Developments was, “what is 40 acres and a mule?” And I used to be like, “Great, I have a video on Jim Crow” and I am gonna share it and we’ll discuss 40 acres and a mule and the way it was this dialog about reparations in the US.
It is taking viral popular culture moments and turning that into like hardcore historical past, crucial race idea, and training. My objective is that you simply come away studying one thing, however you do not really feel such as you simply attended a lecture.
Was there a second post-2020 the place you realized that is your full-time job now?
I used to be capable of begin working with this superb company referred to as DBA (Digital Model Architects), and Raina Penchansky took me beneath her wing and actually confirmed me what was potential as a content material creator as a result of I had come from the non-profit world.
And so quite a lot of the work that you simply’re doing is usually underpaid and generally undervalued. And so now I am on this profession area that’s extremely valued and extremely wanted. And so I needed to actually change the way in which I used to be taking a look at enterprise.
Working with DBA, that was the primary time I had like a financial savings account and wasn’t in bank card debt. And I used to be like, “Wow, I can plan for a future. I can start thinking about having kids ’cause I can afford that now.” It was an enormous sport changer. However I believe that second occurred later in 2020, after I was featured by the New York Occasions and so they wished to do like a day within the life.
And it made me go, “Okay, well if the New York Times is interested in my day-to-day work, maybe I should take myself very seriously.”
With the entire knowledge and perception you’ve got gained in these 5 years, what recommendation do you’ve for creators who’re simply starting their careers?
I believe probably the most vital issues, and it is a lesson that I continue learning time and again, is that you must actually take it significantly once you do a model collaboration. All these manufacturers, they know the way beneficial you’re and generally they assume you are extra beneficial than you may even understand. And they also wanna work with you, and so they need you to advertise various things, however you must acknowledge that once you put your identify on one thing, you are additionally associating your self with that.
It is not only a test, it is also your identify. It is your legacy, it is your credibility. There’s tons of how to proceed dwelling your values and to do model collaborations and partnerships.
When you’re ever beneath the impression that you must do that work by your self, you are gonna be lonely and you are not gonna develop as a lot. Attempt to discover your coworkers within the area, people who find themselves additionally in your area of interest, and collaborate with them as a result of, they will perceive what you are going by way of greater than anybody else, and it helps you get outta that spiral of it simply being you versus the algorithm.
It is also nice as a result of when a model works with you, you then’re capable of sort of collaborate and discuss [it with other creators], Asking one another are we getting paid competitively? After which that is how we begin to set up, proper? In order that simply bringing again the activism into it.
