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First Lady Attends Funeral of Chicago Teen Shot After Performing at the Inauguration: ‘Tragic Loss…Due to Senseless Gun Violence’

Feb. 9, 2013 5:29pm Erica Ritz

Michelle Obama Attends Hadiya Pendletons Funeral in Chicago | Slain After Performing at Inauguration

This undated file family photo provided by Damon Stewart shows 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton of Chicago who was was shot Jan. 29, 2013 while she talked with friends in a park about a mile from President Barack Obama’s Chicago home. (Photo: AP)

(TheBlaze/AP) — Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries, including first lady Michelle Obama, packed the funeral service Saturday for a Chicago teen whose killing catapulted her into the nation’s debate over gun violence.

But one speaker after another remembered 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton not so much as a symbol but as a best friend, reports say, an excellent student with big dreams and simply a girl with a great smile and bubbly personality. They said she was a typical teen who wanted to borrow her friends’ clothes and who never left home without her lip gloss.

And to her mother, Pendleton was the daughter she tried to keep busy so she’d be beyond the reach of the city’s seemingly endless gang violence.

“You don’t know how hard this really is, and those of you who do know how hard this really is, I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Cleopatra Pendleton told the packed South Side church. “No mother, no father should ever have to experience this.”

Cleopatra Pendleton (L) arrives for the funeral of her 15-year-old daughter Hadiya at the Greater Harvest M.B. Church on February 9, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Getty Images)

Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed on Jan. 29 as she stood with friends at a neighborhood park about a mile from President Barack Obama’s Chicago home in the Kenwood neighborhood. Just days before, the band majorette was among the performers during events for Obama’s inauguration. Police say Pendleton was an innocent victim in a gang-related shooting.

Michelle Obama was among a long list of dignitaries who attended the funeral, but she was able to meet privately with the family before the service. She also accompanied the girl’s mother to the open casket at the front of the church.

“As a mother and Chicagoan, the first lady was heartbroken to learn of the tragic loss of Hadiya Pendleton due to senseless gun violence,” Kristina Schake, an aide to Obama, commented.

The first lady, who grew up on Chicago’s South Side, put her arm around Cleopatra Pendleton and patted her back.

Criticized for “politicizing” the girl’s death on Friday, though, she appeared to making an effort to avoid the press and ducked in through a side door.

First lady Michelle Obama (L) ducks in a side door after arrivng at the Greater Harvest M.B. Church for the funeral of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton on February 9, 2013, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Getty Images)

Some of Illinois’ most recognizable politicians and clergy were in attendance, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, Gov. Pat Quinn, and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

But Pendleton’s family said the service wouldn’t be political – it would be a time to remember a girl who loved to dance and who once appeared in an anti-gang video.

None of the dignitaries spoke 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 Rev. Jesse Jackson leaves the wake of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton at the Calahan Funeral Home in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Getty Images)

But the national impact of the young woman’s killing was noted.

Her godfather, Damon Stewart, said someone on Facebook asked what made Pendleton’s death more noteworthy than those of more than 40 people who had already been slain in Chicago this year – many without so much as a mention in local newspapers.

“She’s important because all those other people who died are important,” Stewart retorted. “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.”

Father Michael Pfleger, a prominent Chicago pastor, reportedly asked, “when did we lose our soul?” in discussing “our failure as a society that has allowed guns to become part of our wardrobe.”

An overflow crowd stands outside the Greater Harvest M.B. Church during the funeral of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton on February 9, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Getty Images)

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. It also had a copy of a handwritten note from President Obama addressed to the girl’s family.

“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,” it read.

According to ABC News, Hadiya’s mother is expected to be a guest of honor at the State of the Union Tuesday night.

CBS Chicago has more:

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In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (158)

WatchingThePuppetShow
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 2:30pm
Gang violence in CHICAGO which has some of the most restrictive gun laws…how did this happen? Ah the thugs can get weapons and the law abiding citizens can’t. These political low lives are picking the wrong city to prove their position. Nothing new here….move along….

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independentvoteril
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 2:01pm
MAYBE if the 1st lady had quietly gone to the funeral one wouldn’t be as hardened to say this but it’s NOTHING more than a POLITICAL STUNT to TRY to continue to go after guns.. a battle they have already lost even with their own base..

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oneoldpatriot
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 12:45pm
Is she going to any of the thousands of funerals in Mexico caused by “gun violence” by guns sent there by her husband’s administration.

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4thofjuly
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 12:41pm
This action is nothing but another Pork Barrel to pander to the African AMerican community. When will the people of Chicago wake up and vote out the Democrat politicians who have done NOTHING to help this community. It was the DEMOCRATS who used firehoses and dogs as crowd control measures on peacefully protesting Blacks. It was Bobby Kennedy who wiretapped MLK. It was the Democrats who segregate our military. It was democrats who allowed the Tuskegee experiments to happen. It is years and years of democrat politicians running our big cities who have driven them into the ground and they have the gall to blame that on Republicans sending jobs over-seas. The GOP needs to get this meessage our to the minority communities. All the spending we put into public schools in Chicago and look what we get out of them. Where is this president on the drug war and keeping drugs off our streets? Where is the president on the killings going on in our major cities? Democrats throw candy to these people just to get their votes. When will the African American community wake up?

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katzkiner
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 12:38pm
I got a good project for Obamas’ Homeland Security. Go to Chicago with your drones, armoured trucks , pretty new uniforms and guns, dismantle the gangs stop the massacre.
Over 500 Americans will die there this year. Make yourselves useful.

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- rbolt
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:19pm
  They will take these precautions before it is time for Obama to move back to Chicago.
  
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no1hd
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 12:20pm
How many have been killed since she was, lots but with no names and apparently no value. These people are slime to stand on these graves and preach their politics.

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marmond
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 11:33am
More than a half century of liberal democratic control of Chicago and this is the result; one of the most corrupt and dangerous cities in our country. The high death rate is evidence that strict gun regulation is not the answer to eliminating acts of violence.
Michelle’s visit is one of the few transparent actions of this administration. Her visit is nothing more than a means to push her husband’s agenda of gun control. Violence in Chicago can’t be blamed on Bush so the blame has to be on something other than the liberal democrats who have controlled the city for decades. It’s guns that cause the violence, just like alcohol causes drunk driving and forks cause obesity.
Stop making excuses and start holding politicians accountable for the condition our cities and country are in. Politicians are in control and should be held accountable. Stop letting them divert our attention from the true cause of our problem, poor leaders who are not doing their jobs while they line their pockets with our tax dollars. As long as we are divided and fight among ourselves the politicians are thrilled because we are not focused on how poorly our leaders are doing their jobs. If we unite and demand more from our leaders we will see positive changes in our communities.

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WTSpike
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 11:30am
The First Lady wasted no time referencing the cause “due to senseless gun violence”. And she’s right! Maybe Chicago should try implementing some tough gun laws. That ought to help.

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bamanana
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 11:08am
Where was Moochie at when the other children in Chicago were murdered just like this child in 2012 were gunned down? Where was Moochie when the president went to Sandy Hook? Sick of her & her fake concern for her sheeple! When are the small business & the law abiding citizens of Chicago going to move out along with their tax $$$ & let them have that commie city?

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G-WHIZ
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 11:03am
If the kid wasn’tBLACK and p’o and of democ-rat-parent(s) this would be a nonstory!
Hey, the POS would’nt miss this P H O T O – O P P !!

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RaydocX
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 10:58am
Tragic.
Made moreso by politicians’ willingness to stand on this girls’ corpse, NOT to argue for addressing the obvious problems, but to twist it to their purpose, claiming it (falsely) as an example of why they are right.

Then Jesse and Al and Michelle all went back to their safe, guarded upper class homes to plot and plan the next step in gathering and protecting their personal wealth and power, no matter the damage their policies and beliefs are doing to our inner cities… maybe after a dinner with the Mayor, whose adherence to failed policies and inaction have truly contributed to the problem persisting and growing.

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BobtheMoron
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 10:24am
You got to have sense before something can be labeled as senseless. These people are LIVs and LIQs. They are going to kill each other until the end of time. One only needs to look to Africa to know that this is truth.

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sandlakebob
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 10:19am
It is important that honest, common sense Americans, respond every time the media or ignorant politicians use the term “gun violence”. Guns are inanimate objects….they cannot create ‘violence’, but evil people using them can.

In this case, it was “Chicago GANG violence” that killed this lovely child.
In Sandy Hook, it was “Homicidal Maniac violence”.

If the media is so in love with the term ‘gun violence’, then why didn’t they report that gun violence killed those 4 Americans in Benghazi ????

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Wyerd_001
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 9:55am
I think they miss spelt “gang”, because I read “gun”…..

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woodyee
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 9:47am
…”Due to Senseless Gun Violence”

…as opposed to?

She really should put her brain on a treadmill…

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- neverending
  Posted on February 10, 2013 at 5:44pm
  What brain?
  
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CarolinaGirl
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 9:44am
What a waste of taxpayers’ money for her to attend this funeral of someone she doesn’t even know personally. It had to have cost several hundred thousand dollars or more for Moochelle and her entourage, secret service men, etc. We as a nation cannot afford trips such as these. A phone call to the girl’s mother and a huge bouquet of flowers would have sufficed.

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Saff SGT
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 9:43am
All Liberal actions in Chicago no one to blame but Liberals. They sre sick bastards and cause all this on the public because they are Communist thinking jerk offs. They are crooks, robbers , murderers Rapist , shooters and more. This is like Sodom and gomarah, all evil and they all get what they desrve for letting Liberals run Chicago this way

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oneoldpatriot
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 9:06am
I wonder if the first lady will go to any funeral in Mexico where thousands have died as a result of “gun violence” that her husband’s administration helped when it sent thousands of guns there.

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Tontoisdrunk
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 9:01am
I realize I’m only 24 and from a town of 800 people, but when did it become cool for kids to be stupid? When we did transition from a time when crimes were committed out of absolute desperation, to this current state of idolization of criminal life and gang life? Where kids grow up WANTING to act like this? Not only do they want to act like that, but we put people on the radios and tv openly. Displaying and promoting this behavior! I for one believe that the GANG problem is a societal decay problem. But who likes to actually admit there’s a problem when we can just blame hunks of metal and lead!

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joedog73
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 8:31am
A city with the toughest gun laws has the highest gun crimes.
To anybody with any common sense this would have them re-thinking their laws and policies. But not Rahm Emanual and his liberal crew. They want to inact even more gun laws and make it harder for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves.Rev. Jackson should be asking Rahm why the Chicago police aren’t agressively going after the gangs causing all this bloodshed.

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Yakov-Yurovsky
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 7:13am
My heart goes out to the victim, her family and friends.

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PlanetReality
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 6:47am
WRONG!!! senseless tragic due to a lost society filled with drugs, alcohol, no respect, dignity, class, morals, values or boundaries or hard work!!!
Where everyone thinks they deserve what everyone else has or worked hard for!!!
Guns have been around for centuries but this society where everything is acceptable and has an excuse is the problem, where working for what u CAN EARN is NEVER GOID ENOUGH!!!
Thats the real problem!!!!!

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Zeke48
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 1:38am
These gang thugs are a bunch of ***** punks. Everything they do is crooked and it’s their mothers fault. There’s no father in the picture, and if there is, he is most likely a gang member,in jail or dead. So it’s up to mom and they won’t bring their kids up to be responsible. most of these fools can’t even read. Instead of using federal laws and put these animals in jail for a much longer stay,the politicians will use them now to talk up gun control. The families are to stupid the won’t even move the hell out of these areas so let them kill each other. If the dumb a$$ government can’t fix things what the hell do I care. They should drop a bomb on the dam place because you are never going to change these gang bangers. The government isn’t protecting us at all. This idiot Obama just want’s to queer our Country and blame the Right for all his screw ups. This is the worst Administration in history. What did white people expect from a Black President who has all the friends he has. he and his AG are so racist. I think this Black man has ruined the chances for the next black person to run for this office

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TIME_THE_AVENGER
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 1:33am
I bet her wookieness jammed the breakfast menu down everybody’s throats too.

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sissygirl
Posted on February 10, 2013 at 12:25am
Who of these people will be Chris Kyle’s funeral on Monday? I’m guessing none.

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