CHICAGO—President Barack Obama returned home to Chicago Friday and as expected, gave a spirited discussion on the gun violence issue troubling the city, leading into his plans for strengthening the economy, presented in this week’s State of the Union address.
Speaking to a crowd of about 700 people at Hyde Park Career Academy, less than a mile away from his Chicago home, Obama suggested stricter gun legislation, strengthening urban economic conditions and increasing community and family involvement could help create a safer city.
Obama’s visit, less than a week after Michelle Obama attended the funeral of 15-year-old honor student Hadiya Pendleton, struck a chord with many in the audience as he acknowledged her parents. Nathaniel Pendleton, Hadiya’s father, said he’s “very, very optimistic” about Obama’s plan for tougher gun laws, tighter background checks and fostering a more involved community.
Sending a message to people who have seen his family’s life play out on television over the last few weeks, Pendleton said, “Don’t turn your back. Pay attention to what’s happening out here and get involved. You never expect this tragedy to knock on your door. And when it does, then all of a sudden we’re all gung-ho there. But, there are preventative measures. So let’s try to prevent it instead of waiting for it to happen.”
“It’s not unique to Chicago. It’s not unique to this country,” Obama said of the gun violence issue. “Too many of our children are being taken away from us.
Obama said tragedies such as Pendleton’s murder and the killing of 20 students and 6 faculty members in Newtown, Connecticut are “precisely why the overwhelming majority of Americans are asking for some common-sense proposals to make it harder for criminals to get their hands on a gun.”
Obama noted that the violence rate in Chicago equates to “a Newtown every four months.” Last year, there were more than 500 murders in Chicago, 443 murders with a firearm and 65 of those victims were 18 and under.
Annette Nance-Holt, the mother of 16-year-old Blair Holt, who was murdered in 2007 after someone fired shots in a Chicago Transit Authority bus, shared moments with Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, Hadiya’s mother, minutes before hearing Obama speak. Both families had been in Washington, D.C. this week to attend a Senate hearing on the issue that changed their families forever. The Pendletons were special guests of Michelle Obama at the State of the Union address.
Since her son’s death, Holt’s been an advocate for gun safety. She said that she’d gladly help enforce the president’s plans, and hold lawmakers accountable. “The people here, they need to rally behind the president, because he can’t do it all by himself,” she said. “It’s up to us to push his initiatives and what he wants to see have happen.”
During his speech, Obama also said strengthening families and filling in gaps where fathers are absent would help create a safer Chicago.
A few students who were part of a Chicago-based mentoring group called Becoming a Man (BAM), that has a branch at Hyde Park Career Academy, had a chance to meet with Obama before his speech. “These are all some exceptional young men, and I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Obama said of them during his speech.
Besides being in awe from meeting Obama, 17-year-old Corey Stevens said, “I was surprised that we weren’t that much different.”
Stevens, who is part of BAM and aspires to be in law enforcement said, “I think that he needed to come back here and get the message to the people up close and personal and let them know that this needs to stop.”
Father Michael Pfleger, a Chicago Catholic priest known for his activism against gun violence, applauded Obama’s visit back home. “It’s got to be a comprehensive approach,” Pfleger said. “I’m so glad he’s here, because he’s focusing national attention on this.”
Pfleger continued, saying, “We have to look in our urban communities and realize that we have a lack of good schools, lack of employment, abundance of poverty, abundance of folks coming back out of penal institutions with records. Until we deal with all those issues, you create the perfect storm to violence, and this access of guns.”
Mayor Rahm Emanuel gave Obama a warm introduction before his speech. Other dignitaries present included Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, senior Senator Dick Durbin, who referenced Pendleton in a gun hearing shortly after her death, Congressman Bobby Rush, Illinois Attorney General and former seatmate of Obama’s, Lisa Madigan and Cook County Board President Tony Preckwinkle, who used to be Obama’s alderwoman.
Bringing his speech to a close, Obama gave a charge to residents to get involved in creating a stronger economy, helping rid the streets of violence and strengthening family units. “I’m not going to be able to do it by myself, though. Nobody can. We’re going to have to do it together,” he said.
Renita D. Young is a Chicago-based multimedia journalist. Follow her on Twitter @RenitaDYoung.