Academics

The very first SEMA event was an academic one. The BordersXBelonging Conference started the Shropshire Ethnic Minority Alliance with a bang. Over two days in Shrewsbury University and St. Nicholas’ talks were given on

  • How detentions and exclusions in (London) schools perpetuate the policing of Black bodies by white authorities. This talk was presented by Alexandra Brown, a Black womanist teacher in Greater London
  • Growing up Black in Shropshire, a personal account and theoretical reflection on the lived experiences of SEMA founder, Kwame Boateng
  • Feminism and Islam, presented by Nour Morjan, considered the dilemmas and dichotomies she has traversed in Syria and in the UK
  • KEYNOTE: Oxford Professor of Black Theology, Anthony G. Reddie, presented on and led discussions in themes of identity, place, belonging, and borders with reference to Brexit

At that event we were also blessed with Arabic and English spoken-word poetry from Syrian poet Nour Morjan and from Ben Wilson of OsNosh, Oswestry Community Kitchen, and food each day from Maria Francesca and Keith Holmes-Brown alongside OsNosh.

For a short video that summarises the themes of the conference, and especially the work of Prof. Reddie on these themes: this YouTube video

Poster for the Borders X Belonging Conference. Featuring Prof. Anthony Reddie, central and prominent in the design. Prof. Reddie wears his iconic black leather jacket. He has a trimmed beard, glasses, and dark skin. He is lit in such a way as to cast dark shadows and bright highlights. The photo used from a conference that he was speaking at a few years prior. Against the dark background is the white text of his title and name. Underneath him: "'Theologising Brexit': A Postcolonial Critique". Below that landscape photograph of the keynote speaker are four portrait portraits of four other speakers: Nour Morjan, Alexandra Brown, Kwame Boateng, and Leo Jai (unable to attend). Each photo is of different qualities, but I chose the nicest images I could for the purpose of the poster. There are three smiling faces, their names in white, and Leo is speaking into a microphone. The title of the poster above the ticketing, location, time, and other details says in white against black background: "Shropshire Ethnic Minority Alliance presents", then in deep red: "Borders and Belonging". The red lines are a paintbrush tool I used on Canva to hide my personal details which I put on the original poster. At that time SEMA did not have this website that I'm building as I type this, so I used my personal email and phone for our organising.

That was 2020, which means in February 2025 our organisation will be five years old!

Our focus on education has continued since then, and SEMA (now the acronym stands for Shropshire: Equality Means Action) has been involved in and lead efforts in several educational spheres. We work with councils, libraries, community centres, charitable organisations and groups of individuals for the building of of theoretical and practical knowledge of the dynamics of equality, diversity and inclusion.

We have also intervened in educational settings across Shropshire county in response to racism incidents, working with students, families, staff and governing bodies to redress grievances and examine policies, building justice, fairness, and learning into the culture and practice of teaching and administration.

If you or someone you know requires our trained mediators within your educational or organisational setting, please reach out. Between just our directors–and our organisational networks include many more highly trained colleagues–our qualifications in relevant areas include:

  • MSc – Mindfulness and Compassion
  • Msc – Development Management
  • Post-grad Certificate – Managing Voluntary Sector Organisations
  • Bachelor’s (Hons) – Health and Social Welfare
  • Bachelor’s of Ministry – Pastoral Counselling
  • BTEC Advanced Professional Diploma – Positive Behavioural Support
  • BTEC Certificate – Counselling
  • Advanced Diploma of Ministry – Youth Work
  • C&C Certificate – Teaching Adult Learners
  • Dep. Child Protection (W.A.) – Family Resource Training
  • Dep. Child Protection (W.A.) – Indigenous Health Training
  • Lv. 4, Youth Work
  • Lv. 2, Autism Awareness
  • Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA)
  • SSCB Safeguarding and Protecting Children

Our collective experience in relevant settings include:

  • Examples
  • Example