Shemariah received her BBA and MEd from the American Intercontinental University and her EdD from Northeastern University. Dr. Arki’s dissertation research centers the voices of northeast Ohio youth as they respond to hate, particularly in the wake of #BlackLivesMatter. As an auto/ethnographic researcher and creative non-fiction writer, her work centers cultural epistemologies and the construction of a #BlackCommaFeminist pedagogy.Shemariah is one of five editors for the forthcoming textbook, Teaching Brilliant and Beautiful Black Girls, curated to position classrooms as places of radical transformation and to amplify the voices of the Black girls who inhabit them. In addition, she is working to edit a volume, Gender and Sexualities in Ghanaian Societies, forthcoming in 2021.
Shemariah also serves outside the academy as the Founder and Lead Experience Curator for Sankofa Circle Studios, where she engages creative entrepreneurs through a variety of channels with one goal: lift as you climb. Shemariah also serves on the boards of Stonebrook Montessori School and Shooting Without Bullets. Most recently, Shemariah’s work is has been recognized by the office for Inclusion,Diversity and Equal Opportunity at Case Western Reserve University (2019 Diversity Collaboration Excellence Award), Who’s Who in Black Cleveland (2016-2019), Kaleidoscope’s 40 under 40 Club and by the Kiwanis Club at High Tech Academy. A proud Clevelander and mom of Solomon Tafari and Malcom Saadiq, Shemariah enjoys traveling, yoga and creating memories with her family.