Prudence Powell, celebrated immigration activist, has died at 41

Prudence Powell, 41, of Philadelphia, former civic engagement coordinator for the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition and celebrated activist with the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia and other immigration advocacy groups, died Wednesday, Aug. 28, of brain cancer at Meadowview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Lafayette Hill.

Ms. Powell was sent alone to the United States from Jamaica as a 12-year-old in 1995 and lived with an aunt in New York for several years. She said in a personal profile in 2015 that she moved to Philadelphia in 2004 after her visitor visa was accidentally not renewed, and she felt compelled to share her story of navigating the thorny U.S. naturalization process so others could “help your neighbors know your rights if something happens.”

Driven by what friends and family said was her indomitable faith, resilience, and loyalty, she organized coalitions, led rallies, and engaged in online initiatives to address immigration issues. She lobbied government officials, spoke at church and public events, was featured in The Inquirer and the New York Times, and wrote articles for publications of all kinds.

“It’s never been that Black people don’t want to take care of themselves,” she told rewirenewsgroup.com in 2019. “It’s about not being able to afford to.”

She championed empathy and education, and said in a 2015 story for supperdance.com: “I tell my son that education is something that no one can take away from you.” She supported community outreach and said in 2019 that she experienced postpartum depression, and that “no one talked to me about that. I dealt with it on my own and suffered in silence.”

She earned a high school General Educational Diploma at Temple University in 2013 and qualified for legal status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy in 2014, all while urging greater awareness and understanding for immigrants. “I want to contribute,” she said in an online roundtable. “I want to take care of my family. That’s the goal. … We know what it’s like not having.”

» READ MORE: As DACA nears its end, young immigrants wait, watch and worry

She joined the PICC in 2012 and focused on health-care problems and voter registration efforts. She was a board member of the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia and active with Caribbean Community in Philadelphia and the UndocuBlack Network. In 2020, she helped establish the Shut Down Berks Coalition and organized rallies to close the immigrant family detention center in Berks County.

She also had a son, Jalen, and daughter, Bryana, and friends and colleagues called her a “warrior queen,” “an inspiration,” and “a light in our world” in online tributes. “She wanted better for me and my brother,” her daughter said. “She said we are the strength for the future.”

In February, City Council issued a resolution that recognized Ms. Powell’s “powerful advocacy, love for her community, and her inspiring work to keep families in Philadelphia whole, and to provide sanctuary and stability to all.” Friend and colleague Miguel Andrade called her a “special kind of individual” and said: “She had a boundless dedication to immigration, justice, love, and equality.”

Her son said “she took her job seriously. She gave her blood, sweat, and tears to everything she did.”

Prudence Denise Powell was born Dec. 5, 1982. Until she moved to the United States, she lived in Jamaica with her father and grandmother, and was estranged from her mother until recently.

She was active at Redeem Baptist Church in North Philadelphia, read the Bible often, and listened to gospel music at night. She grew plants in her work office and wrote daily in her personal journal.

She belonged to the Diamond Divas Sister Circle, a women’s empowerment group, and especially liked to share her childhood favorites of salted codfish, boiled dumplings, green bananas, and curry chicken with her children and friends.

“She was loving and caring to everybody,” said longtime friend Tonya Sharkey. She was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2021.

“She was happy, outgoing, and nice,” her daughter said. “She was a lovely person.”

In addition to her children, Ms. Powell is survived by her mother, several siblings, and other relatives.