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The Kemba Smith Foundation is an American charitable organization which aims to raise awareness of certain social issues, including drug abuse, violence, AIDS, teenage pregnancy, and abuse. It was founded by Kemba Smith Pradia, who was convicted of a federal crime related to crack cocaine possession and had her sentence commuted by President Bill Clinton. [1]
Some of the objectives of the Kemba Smith Foundation include:
While attending Hampton University, Smith became involved with a drug dealer who "was a major figure in a $4 million crack cocaine ring". [2] She became physically, mentally, and emotionally abused. Smith was sentenced to 24½ years in prison, serving 6½ years before President Clinton's order of clemency. During her stay in prison, Smith gave birth to a son.
Smith is currently an avid speaker on the rights of felons and is working in the state of Virginia to reinstate their power to vote, serve on a jury and run for public office. Smith graduated from Virginia Union University with a bachelor's degree in Social Work and graduated from law school.
"Her story has been featured on Nightline, Court TV, The Early Morning Show and host of other television programs. Along with several publications such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, Glamour, People, and Essence magazines." [3] Smith has also received numerous awards while fighting for the rights of released prisoners and educating the public on topics related to drug policies. Smith also educates the public on current laws and the criminal system. She is involved in a tour sponsored by Procter & Gamble's Tampax "Totally You Tour".
The U.S. National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence was formed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in Executive Order 11412 on June 10, 1968, after the April 4 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the June 5 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Marion Shepilov Barry was an American politician who served as mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 and 1995 to 1999. A Democrat, Barry had served three tenures on the Council of the District of Columbia, representing as an at-large member from 1975 to 1979, in Ward 8 from 1993 to 1995, and again from 2005 to 2014.
Leonard Kevin Bias was an American college basketball player for the Maryland Terrapins. In the last of his four years playing for Maryland, he was named a consensus first-team All-American. Two days after being selected by the Boston Celtics with the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, Bias died from cardiac arrhythmia induced by a cocaine overdose. In 2021, Bias was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
The war on drugs is the policy of a global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the United States. The initiative includes a set of drug policies that are intended to discourage the production, distribution, and consumption of psychoactive drugs that the participating governments, through United Nations treaties, have made illegal.
The crack epidemic was a surge of crack cocaine use in major cities across the United States throughout the entirety of the 1980s and the early 1990s. This resulted in a number of social consequences, such as increasing crime and violence in American inner city neighborhoods, a resulting backlash in the form of tough on crime policies, a massive spike in incarceration rates, and a sharp escalation of the war on drugs.
The Pittsburgh drug trials of 1985 were the catalyst for a Major League Baseball-related cocaine scandal. Several current and former members of the Pittsburgh Pirates – Dale Berra, Lee Lacy, Lee Mazzilli, John Milner, Dave Parker, Rod Scurry – and other notable major league players – Willie Aikens, Vida Blue, Enos Cabell, Keith Hernandez, Jeffrey Leonard, Tim Raines, Lonnie Smith and Alan Wiggins – were called before a Pittsburgh grand jury. Their testimony led to the drug trials, which made national headlines in September 1985.
On 14 September 2003, Toni-Ann Byfield and Bertram Byfield were murdered by Joel Smith at a bedsit in Kensal Green, London. At the time of her murder, Toni-Ann was formally under the care of Birmingham social services.
The drug policy in the United States is the activity of the federal government relating to the regulation of drugs. Starting in the early 1900s, the United States government began enforcing drug policies. These policies criminalized drugs such as opium, morphine, heroin, and cocaine outside of medical use. The drug policies put into place are enforced by the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Classification of Drugs are defined and enforced using the Controlled Substance Act, which lists different drugs into their respective substances based on its potential of abuse and potential for medical use. Four different categories of drugs are Alcohol, Cannabis, Opioids, and Stimulants.
Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85 (2007), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court confirmed that federal district judges utilize, in an advisory fashion, Federal Sentencing Guidelines, in cases involving conduct related to possession, distribution, and manufacture of crack cocaine.
Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment calls it the most addictive form of cocaine.
Raymond Alvin Jackson is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
George Edward Curry was an American journalist. Considered the "dean of black press columnists", Curry's weekly commentaries enjoyed wide syndication. He died of heart failure on August 20, 2016.
The War on Drugs is a term for the actions taken and legislation enacted by the US federal government, intended to reduce or eliminate the production, distribution, and use of illicit drugs. The War on Drugs began during the Nixon administration with the goal of reducing the supply of and demand for illegal drugs, but an ulterior racial motivation has been proposed. The War on Drugs has led to controversial legislation and policies, including mandatory minimum penalties and stop-and-frisk searches, which have been suggested to be carried out disproportionately against minorities. The effects of the War on Drugs are contentious, with some suggesting that it has created racial disparities in arrests, prosecutions, imprisonment, and rehabilitation. Others have criticized the methodology and the conclusions of such studies. In addition to disparities in enforcement, some claim that the collateral effects of the War on Drugs have established forms of structural violence, especially for minority communities.
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 was a law pertaining to the War on Drugs passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Among other things, it changed the system of federal supervised release from a rehabilitative system into a punitive system. The 1986 Act also prohibited controlled substance analogs. The bill enacted new mandatory minimum sentences for drugs, including marijuana.
The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 was an Act of Congress that was signed into federal law by United States President Barack Obama on August 3, 2010, that reduces the disparity between the amount of crack cocaine and powder cocaine needed to trigger certain federal criminal penalties from a 100:1 weight ratio to an 18:1 weight ratio and eliminated the five-year mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine, among other provisions. Similar bills were introduced in several U.S. Congresses before its passage in 2010, and courts had also acted to reduce the sentencing disparity prior to the bill's passage.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness is a book by Michelle Alexander, a civil rights litigator and legal scholar. The book discusses race-related issues specific to African-American males and mass incarceration in the United States, but Alexander noted that the discrimination faced by African-American males is prevalent among other minorities and socio-economically disadvantaged populations. Alexander's central premise, from which the book derives its title, is that "mass incarceration is, metaphorically, the New Jim Crow".
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 is a major law of the War on Drugs passed by the U.S. Congress which did several significant things:
Brittany K. Barnett is an American attorney and criminal justice reform advocate. Through the organization Buried Alive, which she co-founded with Sharanda Jones and Corey Jacobs, she came to national attention when she and her co-counsel, MiAngel Cody, litigated the release of 17 people in 90 days. Her organization has received funding and endorsement from television personality Kim Kardashian. Barnett is also the founder of Girls Embracing Mothers, a non-profit organization that provides support for girls with mothers in prison.
The CAN-DO Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit foundation that fights for the release of nonviolent drug offenders from prison. The foundation educates the public about conspiracy law and advocates for law reform.
Kemba is a 2024 American biographical legal drama film written by Christine Swanson and directed by Kelley Kali. The film stars Nesta Cooper, Sean Patrick Thomas and Michelle Hurd. The film based on the true story of Kemba Smith, a college student charged as a co-conspirator to her college boyfriend's drug-trafficking crimes and in 1994 was sentenced to 24.5 years in federal prison. Her case drew national attention and support from various organizations including the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund which ultimately prompted President Bill Clinton to grant her executive clemency after serving 6.5 years. She later become criminal justice advocate and public speaker. Kemba Smith serving as executive producer of the film.