JaNaé Bates Imari

Overview

JaNaé Bates Imari is a Minnesota minister and activist who works at the intersection of faith, racial and economic justice, and political organizing. She serves in leadership roles in interfaith coalitions like ISAIAH and Faith in Minnesota, actively mobilizes communities for justice causes, and has recently been a key voice in protests and collective actions responding to federal immigration enforcement and violence.

Quotations

“We’re Minnesotans. We care for one another. And dagnabbit we’re going to show the rest of this country how to care for one another!” (Instagram, Jan. 9, 2026; photo convergencemag.com/authors/janae-bates/)