In the above photo (left to right): Sarah Sawyerr JP, Jacqui MacDonald-Davis JP, Judge Adenike Balogun, Jessica Neil (SevensEdge), O’Neill Hemmings JP, Yvonne Watkins-Knight JP, Samira Ali.
As part of Black History month, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Magistrates Association is making its own history. On Saturday 11 October we were pleased to welcome almost 40 magistrates to St John’s Church conference centre in central London for Stepping Up, a conference for magistrates and their allies from Black, Asian and global majority backgrounds who wish to promote equity and inclusion in order to create a more inclusive judicial system.
The theme for Black History Month 2025 is “Standing Firm in Power and Pride”. As magistrates from the global majority, we are all too familiar with standing up against discrimination and we take great pride in supporting the MA’s diversity initiatives and giving opportunities for all. Our objective for the day was to explore the challenges we face as global majority magistrates and to seek opportunities for change.
We were delighted to welcome an array of distinguished speakers including Judge Adenike Balogun, who talked about the low representation of Black judges in the judiciary. She informed us that there are only 41 Black judges in the UK, making up about 1% of all court judges, and this proportion of Black judges has shockingly remained at 1% since at least 2015!
Nike began her judicial career in 2003, when she was appointed as a fee-paid Employment Judge. In 2009, she was appointed a salaried Employment Judge, based at the London South Employment Tribunal in Croydon. Between 2016 and 2022, while still sitting as an Employment Judge, she was cross assigned to the County Court in Kingston upon Thames, for six weeks a year, hearing general civil matters. In 2022, in a complete departure from her civil jurisdiction, she was appointed a criminal recorder, based on the Midlands circuit. In 2023, she was appointed to her current position of circuit judge. Nike is also a committee member of the UK Association of Women Judges and a member of the International Association of Women Judges.
We then heard from Christopher Syrus who is an author, spoken word artist and motivational speaker. Chris talked about the pressures that young Black men face from systemic racism, discrimination, and stereotypes, including socioeconomic disadvantages like poverty and being disproportionately policed. These factors create a cumulative stress effect that negatively impacts mental and physical wellbeing, leading to challenges related to identity, opportunity, and emotional health. Chris was convicted of conspiracy to import class A drugs in 2004 and served a prison sentence in Wandsworth. His poem Mother’s Cry “…I never heard my mother cry out in pain, until I heard the juror say ‘Guilty’…” really moved the audience and allowed us an insight into Chris’s lived experience of the treatment and conditions for prisoners and their families.
Chris completed a degree as a serving inmate and is now the founder of Syrus Consultancy C.I.C which delivers creative youth services. Chris is committed to the empowerment and personal development of young people through the creative arts. Chris has won many awards and accolades, most recently in 2022 the Community Impact Pride Of Croydon, in 2021 Best Youth Creative Writing Services Greater London Enterprise Awards and in 2017 the British Empire Medal.
Our final guest speaker was Jessica Neil. Jess is an anti-racist, intersectional feminist leader and the founder of SevensEdge, a strategic consultancy supporting purpose-driven organisations to navigate challenge, change, and growth. Having previously worked for the Stephen Lawrence Foundation, her work centres around social justice, equity, and joy, helping organisations and communities reimagine what’s possible. Jess empowers others to align their actions with their values and drive meaningful, sustainable change. Jess invited the audience to focus on their priorities and led a workshop on how an individual’s actions can bring about societal change.
The MA’s Policy and Research Officer, Samira Ali looked at reasons why a quarter of applicants to the magistracy (24%) who are from global majority backgrounds, only make up just 13% of sitting magistrates. We looked at the reasons for this and how we might support applicants from the global majority to navigate the interview process.
We also heard from a panel of experts led by Jacqui MacDonald-Davis and included Presiding Justice, Yvonne Watkins-Knight and Magistrates in the Community representative O’Neill Hemmings which looked at encouraging global majority magistrates to take on more senior roles within the magistracy. To overcome historical disadvantage, explore what support we might need to create and control these spaces within society and to build stronger connections.
The event was truly inspirational with plenty of opportunity to share our experiences and talk and listen to each other. We hope this will be the first of many events which recognises the strength, the resilience, and the progress the Black community has made whilst also encouraging active participation in shaping the future, celebrating our cultural identity and ensuring that everyone promotes equality and human rights in the justice system.
