There will be a Chicago screening of Kemba on Wednesday, October 30, a film inspired by true events, that serves as both a cautionary tale and a call to action, with the woman behind the story taking center stage.
Kemba Smith Pradia, now an advocate, champions the fight against the societal harm and injustice of incarcerating women without acknowledging the abuse they’ve endured.
In 1992, Kemba was a sheltered college student who falls in love with a man she later learns is a drug kingpin and also abusive. As a first-time, non-violent offender who never sold or used drugs, Kemba was ensnared in the conspiracy charges under the broad powers of legislation spurred by the war on drugs. Her sentence: 24 and a half years in prison. The 1994 Crime Bill that imposed mandatory sentences 100 times higher for offenses involving crack cocaine than those with ‘powder’ forms of the drug resulted in more extreme sentences for Black people disproportionately.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30
CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTER, CLAUDIA CASSIDY THEATER
78 East Washington St
Reception 6pm
Screening of Kemba 7pm
Conversation 8:50pm
The event is co-produced by Creative Cypher
Reception sponsored by AARP Chicago
Join some of Chicago’s change makers and way makers in politics, law, media and more for a good movie for a good cause!
More details can be found here.
Kemba’s story is their story. Thousands of women. Since 1980, the women’s prison population has grown by over 700% – faster than any other population in the country. The vast majority are victims of gender-based violence, their guilt often determined by association with their abuser. A 2005 US Supreme Court ruling pushed back on the mandatory minimums of the 1994 Crime Bill. Judges can now consider prior abuse during sentencing. But this ruling is not applied retroactively. So, what of those still behind bars based on those misguided laws?
After a determined fight for justice by her parents and influential political forces, Kemba was granted clemency by President Bill Clinton, after 6 and a half years of incarceration. Now she is fighting to free her former cellmate, Michelle West. Michelle’s story is even more surreal than Kemba’s. Her abusive boyfriend plotted to kill a rival. Once arrested, she feared for her daughter’s life if she were to cooperate with his prosecution. He actually reached out from prison to prove his ability to harm the child. In the end, Michelle got the same sentence he did: 2 life sentences. The man who pulled the trigger did cooperate. He served no time.
Michelle West’s daughter, Miquelle, has been raised by a mom behind bars – with great effort, for the past 30 years. She is a tireless advocate for her mother’s release. Even the daughter of the man killed in this case is in favor of Michelle West’s clemency petition.
Since her release, Kemba Smith Pradia has been an active speaker on the rights of felons. She works in the state of Virginia to reinstate their power to vote, serve on juries and run for public office. She has received numerous awards while fighting for the rights of released prisoners and educating the public on topics related to drug policies. In 2019, she was appointed to the Virginia Parole Board.
The Kemba Smith Foundation works to lessen the negative impact on children of incarcerated women and also focuses on systemic reform. The foundation, and this film, raise awareness of the harm caused to society by the continued incarceration of women who pose no threat and whose absence from their families and communities is the real detriment to society.
Audience members for the Chicago screening of Kemba will learn how to make their voices heard within the Free Michelle West campaign for clemency – and also have an impact on systemic justice reform that can affect thousands more incarcerated women.
The Free Kemba movement of the 90’s was fueled by the power of story. After Emerge Magazine – a legacy Black owned publication – published the story of “Kemba’s Nightmare”, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund took up the cause and eventually the Divine 9 sororities and the public at large demanded justice.
This film is intended to ignite that same power of story. It is supported by Represent Justice, a non-profit organization that turns stories into action. Using the power of storytelling, they raise awareness among policy-makers and the general public – creating a demand around the need for justice system transformation.
Kemba is directed by Kelley Kali, creator of the 2021 indie film I’m fine (Thanks for Asking), which has won several awards in the film festival circuit. Kali’s additional directing credits include Lalo’s House (2018) and Jagged Mind (2023).
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