Blair Imani explains how expression can spark meaningful action

During Pride Month, the rainbow flag flies not just as a symbol for a particular community but as a reminder that a conversations can be transformed into meaningful action. For Blair Imani, her voice is more than just the words on the page. Her ability to advocate and to encourage others to use their voice is vital in facilitating both understanding and change. Through her partnership with Skittles, the lack of color in that Pride Pack holds a vibrancy that is waiting to be explored.

For Pride Month, Skittles has brought back its Pride Pack. While the rainbow is an iconic part of the Skittles brand, these grey, or colorless, packages stand as a visual reminder to welcome the opportunity to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community, its triumphs, its struggles and how everyone can join together to foster meaningful action. With each package purchased, Skittles will donate $1, up to $100,000, to GLAAD.

Recently, FoodSided had the opportunity to speak with Blair Imani. From her partnership with Skittles to her ability to open people’s perspectives on culture, her voice seems to cut through the unnecessary and focus on the heart of the matter. While the visual might capture a person’s attention, it is more than just putting a label on a category.

While some people seek to clearly define a person or a group, fitting everyone and everything into a particular box does always make sense. Although some people might crave that limitation, it might not be viable for every situation.

When asked about how and why a person falls into a particular category or definition, Blair Imani spoke her mind. She said, “Whether or not you feel particularly connected to a label isn’t a prerequisite for being a part of the LGBTQ+ community. If you are outside of the constructs of heteronormativity and cis normativity, you’re part of our community, inherently. We have so much diversity within us and the role of influencers, creators, and artists is to help many people see a mirror to themselves for who and what they may resonate with.”

In many ways, that desire to connect with others is the key to finding a better discovery of themselves. When a person is comfortable being able to embrace self-expression, in any format, that freedom can lead to better understanding.

Imani said, “We live in such a restrictive society when it comes to expression, in many cases. I think about all the ways that humans can express themselves. For example, in communication we prize spoken communication and written communication above all else but there’s so many other forms of communication. If we apply that same understanding to art, we can understand that art is all of the gray areas of how we can communicate our ideas ourselves our identities our experiences and that’s beautiful.”

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Sometimes artists can be the ones who capture those feelings or ideas in ways that others cannot express. While art can be personal, it can spark a conversation, especially when others are afraid to take that first step.

For Imani, she believes that art might be an opening that some people need. Imani said, “Art is an extremely varied and broad medium it can impact us spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. For this reason, art has innumerable applications helping us to express the things that we cannot express otherwise. Due to this reason it has such a massive potential and efficacy in shifting understanding and perspectives. It allows us to perceive information in ways that we might not otherwise absorb it, allowing it to impact us in ways that we might not otherwise be impacted.”

Through her partnership with Skittles, the message that is being shared is more than a rainbow being muted. It is about the actions behind the choice.

When asked about the Skittles message, Imani said, “As the conversation around marketing and pride month continues to evolve there’s an increasing responsibility within various industries to step into the space responsibly and authentically.”

More specifically, she said, “In my opinion it’s not so much about taking the rainbow away, though that does disrupt the typical approach, the very important bit is coupling something that is visually interesting and conversation-provoking with meaningful actions.”

Those actions include, “hiring artists, creators, influencers, creating space for us to tell our stories in our own words, donating to organizations that are dedicated to us and educating people about legislation like the equality act all of which are visible on SkittlesQueeRCodes.com.”

With the Skittles Pride Pack on store shelves, let the shades of grey be a reminder that the vibrant rainbow shines more brightly when people change their perspective on what they see. But, people have to open their eyes to the experience.

How do you think that brands are changing the Pride Month conversation? Do you feel that the being more open to self-expression is important in today’s society?