Autobiography/Memoir
Labeled: Ward of the State
Kenisha E Anthony
2021
An abandoned child of drug-addicted parents and Florida’s broken child-welfare system, Kenisha E. Anthony was left to wonder if anyone would ever want her. As a young girl, desperate for love and belonging, she bounced from one unstable home to the next, packing only resentment, abandonment, and heartbreak to take with her. Still, Kenisha found her way, ultimately breaking barriers and shattering statistics. Against advice to “just get a GED,” she earned both an undergraduate and graduate degree with the aid of tuition exemption per Florida Statute 1009.25(1)(d), a resource for children aging out of foster care. As an advocate for change in the child welfare system, she found her voice in the presence of state legislators and earned a name as a dynamic professional and change-maker in the field of social work.