Voices Unlocked

Motivational speaker uses life’s challenges to connect

By Jessica Laskey
December 2024

If there’s one thing Kamika Hebbert knows it’s this: “It doesn’t matter what you come from, you can be the change. Don’t let your negative circumstances be your outcome.”

She could be speaking about herself. Hebbert grew up between foster care and her biological family. Many of her relatives were incarcerated. At age 9, she started writing letters to family members behind bars to provide them with an emotional connection, care packages and even financial support.

“Nobody asked me to do it,” says Hebbert, who moved with her foster family to Elk Grove from East Palo Alto as a child. “When you’re incarcerated, you’re just thinking of what you need to survive. You don’t think about the individual you’re asking. You don’t realize they have a job or school.”

Despite the challenges, Hebbert found her light—literally.

“Theater is what saved me,” she says. Hebbert was a student at Sacramento City College when theater professor Luther Hanson asked his class to write a play. Hebbert penned “In By Chance, Out By Choice” about a youth in foster care. She became hooked on dramatic authorship.

“When you find something you’re passionate about writing about and you can visualize the characters, it comes with the snap of a finger,” Hebbert says.

The first play led to her second, an exploration of her childhood letter writing titled, “We’ve Been Sentenced.” When she performed it at The Center at Twenty-Three Hundred, the response was positive.

“It showed me how impactful the message is, even for people who’d never experience that life. It was eye opening to them,” Hebbert says.

One of Hebbert’s supporters, Phyllis Needelman, introduced the young writer to San Diego producer Amy Krause, who thought the material could be adapted for the screen. Hebbert created a documentary that incorporated her story and narratives of formerly incarcerated individuals.

The documentary premiered at the Guild Theater in May and spawned workshops in a community-impact project led by Hebbert.

“My heart and soul are so into this movement,” she says. “In our workshops, we show the documentary and invite the community to come out and have talks. The cast is part of the panel discussion. They’re people who were formerly incarcerated and are now doing wonderful things out in the community.”

Hebbert’s Write on Time workshops are presented through Kamika Speaks, her motivational speaking brand, hosted at the creative writing nonprofit 916 Ink. She’s in talks with local school districts and hopes to work with young people in juvenile hall.

“It’s so enriching,” she says. “We’re in the community making change. I want more and more people to hear about this so they can help. My story might not touch somebody, but somebody might have a story that can touch somebody. I want that ripple effect to make the world a better place.”

For information, visit wevebeensentenced.com and @kamikaspeaks on Instagram.

Jessica Laskey can be reached at jessrlaskey@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.