Hadiya Pendleton, Honors Student Who Performed at Obama Inaugural Event, Gunned Down in Chicago

Chicago teen Hadiya Pendleton, who was murdered last month, was laid to rest Saturday. Also in attendance at her funeral, which was held at the Greater Harvest Baptist Church, were First Lady Michelle Obama, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Prior to the service, Michelle Obama met privately with about 30 of the teenager’s friends and classmates, and then with members of her family, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Father Michael Pfleger posed an important question during the funeral, “when did we lose our soul?” He called Hadiya Pendleton an “innocent victim of gun violence.’’ Somebody knows who killed her and they need to speak up. That will be one less murderer on the streets of Chicago.

President Obama’s handwritten note to Hadiya Pendleton’s family was printed on the back of the funeral program:  ”Dear Cleopatra and Nathaniel, Michelle and I just wanted you to know how heartbroken we are to have heard about Hadiya’s passing. 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.”

How many more Hadiya Pendletons do we have to bury before something is done to curb the gun violence holding communities under siege? We can’t go back to business as usual. Too many young people are dying to gun violence. Far too many. Her mother, Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, said it best, “No mother, no father should ever have to experience this. I kept her living [saying she helped her daughter stay away from negative influences] When your children try to talk to you, listen. Don’t judge them. This should be a judge-free zone. You made them. You deal with that.”

Hadiya Pendleton laid to rest: