Kemba Smith Pradia's Journey: From Pardon to Advocacy | The Color Between The Lines

Join Esther Dillard on 'The Color Between The Lines' as we explore the compelling story of Kemba Smith Pradia, recently pardoned by President Joe Biden. Kemba delves into her past experiences with the criminal justice system, her ongoing advocacy work, and her new film on BET+. She also shares invaluable advice for women facing similar struggles. Don't miss this inspiring episode that bridges personal triumphs with broader systemic challenges.

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Transcript

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On this edition of the Color between the Lines. We speak with prison reform activist Kamba Smith Pradia. She's in the spotlight this Women's History Month because of her incredible story of resilience and strength. At the beginning of this year, President Joe Biden granted her a full pardon for her conviction. One that at one time landed her in prison with a 24 and a half year sentence. She talks about that and her advocacy work with other women who are serving in prison under similar circumstances. I'm Esther Dillard chatting with writers, authors and experts who offer an added perspective for listeners. This is the color between the lines. Before we speak to Kamba Smith Pradia about her pardon by President Joe Biden, we have to revisit her story. In the late 1980s, Pradia was a college student at Hampton University where she met 28 year old Peter Hall, a man who was not a student and whom she later discovered was involved in drug trafficking. Their relationship soon turned abusive and over time Pradia found herself deeply entangled in this world. Though she never sold drugs herself, she eventually became pregnant and left him, returning to her parents before ultimately turning herself in to authorities. In 1994, after hall was shot and killed, federal authorities charged Perdia with conspiracy to distribute crack and powder cocaine, money laundering and making false statements to federal agents. Under federal conspiracy laws, she was held accountable for the actions of Hall's drug ring even though she never personally engaged in drug sales. She pled guilty to all three charges and was sentenced to 24 and a half years in federal prison. Her family fought tirelessly to appeal to the public and advocate for her release. After serving approximately six and a half years, President Bill Clinton granted her executive clemency in December 2000, allowing her to leave prison early. Since her release, Pradia has dedicated her life to criminal justice reform. She founded the Kemba Smith foundation, advocating against mandatory minimum sentencing and highlighting how the justice system disproportionately impacts black and brown communities. Her story gained renewed attention in 2024 when BET plus released the film Kemba, bringing her experiences to a wider audience. And this year, in January, President Joe Biden granted her a full pardon. She spoke with me about how she felt that. Was at home in my kitchen and, you know, could tell it was a sister. And basically, she said that she was from the White House counsel's office, and she. Was over clemencies. And basically she said that the decision on my pardon was a no brainer and they saw all the work that I had done since I had been home. And she told me that I received a full pardon from the president. And I was so very grateful. I expressed my gratitude. But if you have been following my film Kimba, that's now streaming on bet, I launched an Impact campaign along with Represent justice, which is an organization that selected my film to run this impact campaign and basically was centered around urging President Biden to commute other women's sentences, in particular my friend Michelle west, who had also been in an abusive relationship prior to incarceration. So my questioning was I immediately diverted to, you know, I'm sure you can't share it with me, but, you know, I would feel some kind of way if I got this full pardon. And Michelle didn't get her commutation and of course she kept talking about me and didn't give any information. But immediately after I hung up, of course was giving God all the glory and, you know, just overwhelmed. But when my song looked down and saw my phone ring and it was Michelle west, attorney, and she told me when I picked up that Michelle's sentence had. And commuted. I actually fell to the floor and was just so grateful because, you know, we waited and waited for President Biden to do additional commutations, and it was down to the wire. I mean, I mean, I'm grateful to my attorney and also the legal defense fund and some other folks. I mean, it was just constant phone calls up until that point. And so for all this work to have been done and to get to those final hours, I think it was just a release for me of just gratitude and to be. To be able to breathe that, you know, of course I'm grateful for my full pardon, but to be released after 32 years of being in prison, it's just grateful that know that my sister's finally going to come home. What was that call like between you and your friend? So I haven't actually, I talked to her daughter because she currently is in a prison in Minnesota. And we've been emailing back and forth, and they have some phone system where they only get a certain amount of minutes. And she's been devoting that time to talking to her daughter. But Michelle Mikel and I, I mean, I boohoo. Cried. And I think Mikael was in shock because she was, you know, a strong young lady like she she has been. And I think that. You know, it's just we're all still processing it, and, you know, I'm looking forward to being at Michelle West Prison on February 18, where I'll be able to wrap my arms around her and watch her walk out of that prison. I can't wait to hear more about that when that happens. That's just so awesome. I know that you've been working so hard and for that to come to fruition, I'm sure that that is just going to be an awesome moment. Driving force ever since I came home and I think some people that have known me and know my work, some people may have said, why is she still telling that story? Well, God has put me in a position where the story has been impactful, and I've owned that. And it was a healing process for me after coming home and talking about it and seeing how it impacted other people. But ever since I walked out, I had a sense of survivor's guilt because I knew of others that deserved that same commutation that I received. But. But then also having been out doing the advocacy work and then being appointed to the Virginia Parole Board by the governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, and I served for two and a half years. I got to see. See from a different perspective still the wrongful convictions and people that are deserving of their freedom as well. So I've wanted to use my human story, through media and film and through public speaking to help change. Change the perspective, change the narrative to hopefully end some of the fear mongering that's going on with people in their thoughts about formerly incarcerated people and humanizing stories. I know that the commutation means that it is one thing, but the pardon was another. What does that mean for you in terms of your life now? How will that change things for. It's more redemptive for me to know that the same government that sentenced me and criminalized me has acknowledged the fact of the work that I've done and have granted. And the President of the United States granted me a full pardon. And just in full transparency and in working with my attorneys in LDF and the letter that I received from the pardon attorney's office, there's still some work we have to do out here. And so in my letter, it basically said that I still would need to check yes to a box if they asked about a criminal conviction and that I'm supposed to have this documentation of receiving a pardon from the president that's supposed to carry some weight in whatever decision decisions that are made in the future. I want people to understand a little bit about your background because I did watch a little bit of this, your, your movie, the, the adaptation of your life, Kemba, which is released on BET Plus. But I know that part of it, you were in college, you and you were going through a difficult relationship, and then that took a turn for the worse. Can you talk about when it did take a turn for the worse and when did you know that? Oh, I'm in really deep trouble here. Yeah, it took a turn for the worse, probably. Obviously, there were some red flags, and I speak about those red flags in my book, and when I'm out speaking publicly. But the first time he put his hands on me, I thought he was going to kill me. And there was no, like, you know, minor incident beforehand. It was a full fledged assault. And he punched me on my. Throughout my body and strangled me to the point where blood vessels had popped all over my face and my eyeballs. And so I was in shock. I was traumatized. I was. Really did not know how to move forward with it. And of course, afterwards came the I'm sorry, it'll never happen again. And I was more so concerned about, like a lot of women that were in those situations. When I did go back to the Hampton University area was. Concerned about, you know, my pride and what other people would think and not feeling comfortable going to talk to anybody else. And I put more weight into the, you know, his. His. I'm sorry. And so. And it escalated because there was a point, and I don't want to tell the whole story, but the fear, intense, intense, intensified because I knew what he was capable of doing to another person. So I was fearful to share information about him. And when I did, it was too late. And so, you know, some of the work that I'm doing now I'm grateful to be working with. With the 400 years African American History Commission. And we have this initiative called I Fear for My Life. And basically we've been to over 12 HBCUs across the country, sharing with them, and not just HBCUs, but mostly HBCUs and sharing with them a community perspective where I talk about my interaction with law enforcement and the fear that I had, the fear that I had to even. You know, be truthful about, you know, what was going on and the choices and consequences of that, because I want, you know, our young people to understand the consequence of every decision that, that we make. But also, with this initiative, it's important where we bring in law enforcement to, to talk about their fear and the work that they do to hopefully build trust within our communities. So I get privileged to be able to, you know, work with students because used to be in their position. What kind of advice do you give to young ladies, young girls that are in college that may be facing similar situations, or maybe not as drastic, but what kind of advice do you give them? I'll start off with saying, making sure that. They're loving themselves, that they're staying focused on their priorities. Because I know when I started Hampton, I did have a priority and focus, but I became more concerned about what the cool kids or what in my mind perspective cool kids were in a time where we didn't have cell phones and scrolling and where other kids are looking now and thinking what they see on their devices is what's cool. But I basically just tell them to focus on their goals, their dreams and where it they want to go in life and not put all of their emphasis on superficial things and relationships because those things will disappoint you or run out. But your education, your career. Those are the things that are going to empower you and move you forward into your future. In that same token, too, as we talk about my journey forward, so I'm a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. Where I am targeting in on young adults and high schoolers and college students and talking about various aspects centered around my story. But domestic violence and relationships will be one of those prongs as well. What do you see in the next few years as far as goals and in changing things ahead? And how can others who want to be connected to this work? How do they connect to you? Yeah, well. On social media platforms so they can reach out. I also have my website that needs to be updated. Let me make sure I put that out there. But if you want to go to kimber smith.com or kimber smithfoundation.org you can contact me through there as well. But I mean, my interest, I still have a devotion to women and the impact of, of what it has on families. And I'm forever going to be pushing for, like, the need clemency. Second look legislation within, you know, states, because, you know, some states do offer that. I feel like there should be a primary caretaker bill. Some states have implemented that where they take into consideration the impact on children and families. And for. Alternatives. Alternatives to incarceration so people can remain connected as families. I think, especially in where we are this political time, I want to focus on the impact of children and families and also with the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. I want more criminal justice stakeholders to understand the cycle of domestic violence and how it impacts women and some of their decisions when they're not criminally minded. But you find that they get sentenced to decades behind prison even though they never physically. 1, 2, 3, 4. Physically harmed anyone, but because of their relationship. Well, thank you, Kemba Smith Pradia, for joining us on the bin. Thank you so much. That's it for this edition of the Color between the Lines. If you'd like to hear more episodes, just go to the Color between the lines podcast on iHeartRadio or head to the Color between the Lines YouTube channel.