Chicago remembers teen victim of city gun violence
CHICAGO (AP) - Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries, including first lady Michelle Obama, stood and applauded the family of a 15-year-old Chicago girl for their strength Saturday, a week and a half after her death brought national attention to the city's staggering gun violence.
One speaker after another at Saturday's funeral remembered Hadiya Pendleton as more than a symbol, but as a girl who had dreams, joked with her friends and loved school and performing as a majorette with the group that performed at events surrounding President Barack Obama's inauguration just days before her death on Jan. 29. Police say Pendleton was an innocent victim in a gang-related shooting.
Her godfather, Damon Stewart, said some people on Facebook had asked what made Hadiya's death noteworthy when more than 40 people had already been slain in Chicago this year - many without so much as a mention in local newspapers. The answer, Stewart told the packed South Side church, was obvious.
"She's important because all those other people who died are important," Stewart said. "She's important because all of those lives and voices of those families who were ignored, she now speaks for them. ... I don't believe in coincidence. God needed an angel. God needed to send somebody for us to change."
Michelle Obama met privately with the family before the service and then accompanied the girl's mother to the open casket at the front of the church. Obama, who grew up on Chicago's South Side, put her arm around Cleopatra Pendleton and patted her back. The woman threw her head back and wailed as the lid of her daughter's flower-strewn casket was closed.
Moments later, the hundreds in attendance rose to their feet to begin the service with a round of applause "to the strength of this family." Then, the choir began to sing so loud the floor shook.
Some of Illinois' most recognizable politicians and clergy were in attendance, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. But Pendleton's family says her Saturday funeral service was not about politics - it was about remembering a girl who loved to dance, who once appeared in an anti-gang video.
None of the dignitaries was slated to speak Saturday. Instead, close friends, holding back tears, got up to remember her. One of them said she felt Hadiya was "still here with us, whispering the answers in chemistry." The captain of the King College Prep majorettes presented Cleopatra Pendleton with her team jacket.
Father Michael Pfleger, a prominent Chicago pastor, said Hadiya was the face of an "epidemic of violence causing funeral processions around the country."
"Sisters and brothers, I beg you," he said. "We must become like Jesus. We must become the interrupters of funeral processions."
Pendleton was shot and killed while she talked with friends after school at a park not far from the Obamas' home in the Kenwood neighborhood. Police have said the shooting appears to be a case of mistaken identity involving gang members who believed the park was their territory. No charges have been filed.
Pendleton's death brought new attention to Chicago's homicide rate and the national debate over gun violence. Pendleton's slaying came in a January that was the city's deadliest in a decade. In 2012, Chicago recorded 506 homicides.
A glossy, eight-page funeral program included photos of Pendleton and details about her life, including her favorite foods - cheeseburgers, fig cookies, Chinese and ice cream - and the numerous school organizations she was involved in. The program also included a copy of a handwritten note from President Obama addressed to the girl's family.
"Michelle and I just wanted you to know how heartbroken we are to have heard about Hadiya's passing," it reads. "We know that no words from us can soothe the pain, but rest assured that we are praying for you, and that we will continue to work as hard as we can to end this senseless violence. God bless, Barack Obama."
Other dignitaries at the service were Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett - all of whom are from Chicago.
Quinn mentioned Pendleton's death in his State of the State address earlier this week as he called for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
"There are no words in the English language . or any language . to relieve the pain of parents who lose a child," Quinn said.
One speaker after another at Saturday's funeral remembered Hadiya Pendleton as more than a symbol, but as a girl who had dreams, joked with her friends and loved school and performing as a majorette with the group that performed at events surrounding President Barack Obama's inauguration just days before her death on Jan. 29. Police say Pendleton was an innocent victim in a gang-related shooting.
Her godfather, Damon Stewart, said some people on Facebook had asked what made Hadiya's death noteworthy when more than 40 people had already been slain in Chicago this year - many without so much as a mention in local newspapers. The answer, Stewart told the packed South Side church, was obvious.
"She's important because all those other people who died are important," Stewart said. "She's important because all of those lives and voices of those families who were ignored, she now speaks for them. ... I don't believe in coincidence. God needed an angel. God needed to send somebody for us to change."
Michelle Obama met privately with the family before the service and then accompanied the girl's mother to the open casket at the front of the church. Obama, who grew up on Chicago's South Side, put her arm around Cleopatra Pendleton and patted her back. The woman threw her head back and wailed as the lid of her daughter's flower-strewn casket was closed.
Moments later, the hundreds in attendance rose to their feet to begin the service with a round of applause "to the strength of this family." Then, the choir began to sing so loud the floor shook.
Some of Illinois' most recognizable politicians and clergy were in attendance, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. But Pendleton's family says her Saturday funeral service was not about politics - it was about remembering a girl who loved to dance, who once appeared in an anti-gang video.
None of the dignitaries was slated to speak Saturday. Instead, close friends, holding back tears, got up to remember her. One of them said she felt Hadiya was "still here with us, whispering the answers in chemistry." The captain of the King College Prep majorettes presented Cleopatra Pendleton with her team jacket.
Father Michael Pfleger, a prominent Chicago pastor, said Hadiya was the face of an "epidemic of violence causing funeral processions around the country."
"Sisters and brothers, I beg you," he said. "We must become like Jesus. We must become the interrupters of funeral processions."
Pendleton was shot and killed while she talked with friends after school at a park not far from the Obamas' home in the Kenwood neighborhood. Police have said the shooting appears to be a case of mistaken identity involving gang members who believed the park was their territory. No charges have been filed.
Pendleton's death brought new attention to Chicago's homicide rate and the national debate over gun violence. Pendleton's slaying came in a January that was the city's deadliest in a decade. In 2012, Chicago recorded 506 homicides.
A glossy, eight-page funeral program included photos of Pendleton and details about her life, including her favorite foods - cheeseburgers, fig cookies, Chinese and ice cream - and the numerous school organizations she was involved in. The program also included a copy of a handwritten note from President Obama addressed to the girl's family.
"Michelle and I just wanted you to know how heartbroken we are to have heard about Hadiya's passing," it reads. "We know that no words from us can soothe the pain, but rest assured that we are praying for you, and that we will continue to work as hard as we can to end this senseless violence. God bless, Barack Obama."
Other dignitaries at the service were Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett - all of whom are from Chicago.
Quinn mentioned Pendleton's death in his State of the State address earlier this week as he called for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
"There are no words in the English language . or any language . to relieve the pain of parents who lose a child," Quinn said.
The gang problem in Chicago is the gang from the Democratic party that has run the state since Al Capone the Daily's the politicians in Chicago only care about themselves. Gun violence helps helps the anti gun cause. The more violence the better.
The Leftist Media will call it Gun-Violence.Â
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We know that millions of kids have been raised in environments with plenty of access to guns, who didn't use them to kill each other.Â
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But it's simpler to blame "the gun", than to confront the REAL problems:Â Â gangs of sociopathic youth, usually from totally disfuntional homes; growing up in a society that increasingly idolizes power, violence and gore.
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Simpler to blame the gun, than acknowledge we are reaping the whirlwind of a society that rejects all of the relgious and traditional values that once prevented this level of violence.
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A society awash in media depictions glorifying the lowest behaviour and attitudes, romanticizing violence, and mocking anyone who demostrates values.
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She's dead because Chicago's indulgent systems and institutions have deteriorated the inner city society to the base where gang members mark their territories like dogs peeing on stumps, and value human livfe no more than a common cur. Â
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Or, She's dead because somebody got 'dissed", the ultimate crime in our self indulgent society.  Or, She's dead because some little sociopath played just enough violent video games to be primed to kill, but not enough of them to have sharpened his skills to actually hit his intended target. Â
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Yeah, all that can't be the problem. It's the GUN. Â
Chicago with strict gun laws had 40 deaths last month....Seattle with loose gun laws? ZERO!! Just had our first one last week! Yeah, let's try to be Chicago!
Another wrong headline. It should read "Chicago remembers teen victim of intercity violence"Â The weapon used does not matter.
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Chicago needs enact strict gun control laws, oh wait they have.
Complete breakdown of the family unit...
 @lakeview 100% agreed. The most confusing day in Chicago? Father's Day. All of these half families, and teenage "gangstah's" are becoming the unwanted "norm" in our society. Yet.....the powers that be always want to blame something else. Anything to keep from having to man up to their mistakes I guess.
"Quinn mentioned Pendleton's death in his State of the State address earlier this week as he called for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines."
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It's interesting that there doesn't seem to be corpse that these people won't stand on to further their misguided agenda.
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Gang violence accounts for the vast majority of gun-related homicides in this country (the majority of which are carried out with the average handgun). Only 3% of all gun-related fatalities involve long-barreled rifles, and only a small percentage of those are from what have now been classified as "assault weapons."
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How about taking some steps into solving the gang problem?
 @burton Can't. That would be "racist," and we'd be "picking on" a minority. The N.A.A.C.P. and the A.C.L.U. have fought long and hard for the RIGHTS of these gangbanging little thugs, and they will continue to do so. The only true cure for this problem, would be extermination during crimes being committed, and our society is leaning that direction.