BET+ is premiering a new film that tells the true story of a sheltered college student whose deceptive drug-dealing boyfriend’s actions land her behind bars.
Source: Courtesy / BET+
Based on a ’90s story ripped out of the headlines, KEMBA follows the journey of Kemba Smith, a Hampton University student who falls in love with a man named Khlalif, only to discover he isn’t who he seems. The straight-laced scholar is groomed and abused by Khalif who turns out to be a drug kingpin who uses her to overlook his illicit dealings.
Source: Courtesy / BET+
A press release reports that although she never dealt or handled drugs, in a tragic turn of events, Kemba receives an outrageous sentence of sentenced to 24 1/2 years in federal prison for her boyfriend’s crimes—placing her in the middle of the government’s “war on drugs.”
Never losing hope, her parents, Gus and Odessa Smith, along with an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund launch a campaign for appeal and later clemency, harnessing the power of Black civic organizations, sororities, celebrities, and lawmakers to help free Kemba.
Source: Courtesy / BET+
The cast includes Niesta Cooper as Kemba, Siddiq Saunderson as Khalif, Michelle Hurd as Odessa Smith, and Sean Patrick Thomas as Gus Smith.
Do you remember Kemba’s story?
The feature-length film inspired by the work of criminal justice reform advocate Kemba Smith premieres on Thursday, February 22, only on BET+.