55 min

S4 | EP 3: KEMBA SMITH-PRADIA ~ Leading A Life Committed to Justice: From College to Prison to Poster Child for Criminal Justice Reform WE GOT US NOW podcast

    • Non-Profit

WE GOT US NOW #KeepFamiliesConnected campaign series

WELCOME to Season 4 of the ⁠WE GOT US NOW Podcast⁠ series POWERED by ⁠The Just Trust⁠

HOSTED by Ebony Underwood

For our 6th annual #KeepFamiliesConnected multimedia campaign series that runs from Mother's Day through Father's Day, WE spotlight voices from our community, and uplift our allies working across the field to create a just and equitable society that seeks to keep justice-impacted families connected.  



Kemba Smith-Pradia is a Mother, Advocate, Author, Motivational Speaker & Executive Producer of the new film, "KEMBA". Growing up as an only child in Virginia, Kemba Smith graduated high school and continued her education at the prestigious Hampton University. What happened to Kemba in her new campus environment was a nightmare. She went from college student to drug dealer’s girlfriend to domestic violence victim and in 1994 she was sentenced to 24 1/2 years in federal prison. Kemba’s case drew support from across the nation and after serving 6.5 years, President Clinton commuted her sentence to time served.Kemba shares her traumatic real life experience as the Executive Producer of the new film, "KEMBA", streaming on BET Plus & Amazon Prime Video. 



Today, Kemba advocates around the world regarding a variety of criminal justice issues, including: fair sentencing, women incarceration and re-entry. She has worked with senior officials at The White House, the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Members of Congress, and has led trainings for Federal and State Probation organizations across the country.  Kemba is a graduate of Virginia Union University, a past recipient of the Soros Justice Postgraduate Fellowship in 2014, was appointed a member of the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission, and is a popular speaker at colleges, universities, high schools, juvenile facilities, churches and national conferences around the nation. She is the author of the book, “Poster Child: The Kemba Smith Story" and has received numerous awards and recognitions for her courage and determination as a motivational speaker and advocate to humanize people who are impacted by incarceration and believes in sharing her story as an educational tool to prevent youth from going down a similar path. YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS EPISODE!



FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: ⁠WEGOTUSNOW.org ⁠|⁠ Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠

LISTEN to the WE GOT US NOW Podcast on SPOTIFY, APPLE Podcasts and all podcasts platforms. 



#WEGOTUSNOW #MentalHealthMatters #ChildrenwithIncarceratedParents  #FREEMICHELLEWEST #keepfamiliesconnected #Mothers #WeGotUsNowPodcast 

WE GOT US NOW #KeepFamiliesConnected campaign series

WELCOME to Season 4 of the ⁠WE GOT US NOW Podcast⁠ series POWERED by ⁠The Just Trust⁠

HOSTED by Ebony Underwood

For our 6th annual #KeepFamiliesConnected multimedia campaign series that runs from Mother's Day through Father's Day, WE spotlight voices from our community, and uplift our allies working across the field to create a just and equitable society that seeks to keep justice-impacted families connected.  



Kemba Smith-Pradia is a Mother, Advocate, Author, Motivational Speaker & Executive Producer of the new film, "KEMBA". Growing up as an only child in Virginia, Kemba Smith graduated high school and continued her education at the prestigious Hampton University. What happened to Kemba in her new campus environment was a nightmare. She went from college student to drug dealer’s girlfriend to domestic violence victim and in 1994 she was sentenced to 24 1/2 years in federal prison. Kemba’s case drew support from across the nation and after serving 6.5 years, President Clinton commuted her sentence to time served.Kemba shares her traumatic real life experience as the Executive Producer of the new film, "KEMBA", streaming on BET Plus & Amazon Prime Video. 



Today, Kemba advocates around the world regarding a variety of criminal justice issues, including: fair sentencing, women incarceration and re-entry. She has worked with senior officials at The White House, the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Members of Congress, and has led trainings for Federal and State Probation organizations across the country.  Kemba is a graduate of Virginia Union University, a past recipient of the Soros Justice Postgraduate Fellowship in 2014, was appointed a member of the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission, and is a popular speaker at colleges, universities, high schools, juvenile facilities, churches and national conferences around the nation. She is the author of the book, “Poster Child: The Kemba Smith Story" and has received numerous awards and recognitions for her courage and determination as a motivational speaker and advocate to humanize people who are impacted by incarceration and believes in sharing her story as an educational tool to prevent youth from going down a similar path. YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS EPISODE!



FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: ⁠WEGOTUSNOW.org ⁠|⁠ Instagram⁠ | ⁠Twitter⁠

LISTEN to the WE GOT US NOW Podcast on SPOTIFY, APPLE Podcasts and all podcasts platforms. 



#WEGOTUSNOW #MentalHealthMatters #ChildrenwithIncarceratedParents  #FREEMICHELLEWEST #keepfamiliesconnected #Mothers #WeGotUsNowPodcast 

55 min