Venida Brodnax Browder

Biography

Venida Brodnax Browder (1953–2016) was an American advocate, poet, and mother, born in Newport News, Virginia. She raised seven children, including four adopted children — among them Kalief Browder, whose wrongful three-year detention without trial at Rikers Island, including nearly two years in solitary confinement, became a landmark case in the movement for criminal justice reform. She earned a bachelor's degree in nutrition from Lehman College at age 51, and in her earlier years performed as a vocalist with the soul music trio Lady T and the Shontels. Following Kalief's 2015 death by suicide after his release, Venida became a prominent public advocate for justice reform, speaking out about the abuses of pretrial detention and solitary confinement and filing lawsuits against the City of New York for wrongful death and civil rights violations on her son's behalf. She died of a heart attack in October 2016, sixteen months after her son's death. Her poetry, along with archival footage and interviews of her, forms the emotional and narrative core of the documentary For Venida, For Kalief (2025), directed by Sisa Bueno.