Bossip
Video
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+.
