Mama Imani: A Beltsville Renaissance Woman

Agenda from a naturalization ceremony in September 1993 where she led major roles.

I honestly had a hard time writing this profile. Not because Ms. Imani-Frances Smith is uninteresting or because we didn't have the loveliest time chatting.

It is because it is hard to capture her absolutely glowing essence in a mere few words.

We see the houses and driveways throughout Beltsville and never really imagine who lives behind those front doors. I had the absolute pleasure of knocking on one such door and finding a woman who has lived several lives in her lifetime.

This beacon of light in a fellow Beltsvillian is a woman who, even after retiring from the federal government, visited as many local schools as she could, sharing stories of her time working in the Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service. She retired from service in 1996 due to illness but continues to serve her community, including in her church and helping her neighbors.

Naturally, when the discussion of her working in immigration came up, her eyes lit with a fury at the current operations of ICE. She said she hated what they were doing, to people who came to this country looking for a better life, especially when she has spent so much time helping immigrant families in her lifetime, including those arriving from South Africa during Apartheid.

Photo from Dulles airport with colleagues

In addition to the several decades of work in service (where she earned all three badges: Information, Examiner, and Inspector) she has also: worked as a flight attendant for TWA; was an election judge for District 21; voter registration volunteer; a notary for Maryland; joined several organizations (including Prince George’s Fraternal Order of Police and Potomac Valley Chapter of the National Council of Negro Women); greeted Desert Storm families at Dover Air Force Base; met Colin Powell, Queen Elizabeth and Edward Kennedy (among others); worked at Dulles Airport when Customs only had six lanes for passengers; designed clothes for fashion shows in high school; designed swimsuits that went to Miss America pageants in the late 1980’s and is writing a book to boot!

We ended up sitting on the floor of her home, her showing the materials one collects over a life well lived and me sipping hibiscus tea that she very kindly prepared. Her walls are filled with letters from people, including President and Mrs. Obama and photos and antiques collected on travels. She spoke often of her father, William E. Smith, who was the first black man to serve as chef in the White House (during the Truman and Eisenhower presidencies). She said she got to sit in the kitchen, and the White House had the best milk and ice cream that she’s ever had in her life. She spoke lovingly of her son, a musician. She gave me a big hug before I left, and I was stunned a bit after I left. This amazing woman opened her home and her memories to me, and it makes one wonder, how many incredible folks are behind doors that we never think to knock on.