The funeral of slain teen Hadiya Pendleton began today amid large crowds, long lines and heavy security prompted by the attendance of first lady Michelle Obama.
While family and friends kept the focus on the 15-year-old girl who was shot dead in a South Side park, the first lady's appearance inevitably brought attention to anti-gun efforts nationwide.
Hundreds of mourners lined up early to pay respects to Hadiya, who was a majorette for King College Prep's band and performed during President Barack Obama's inauguration festivities just days before she was slain, shot in the back while hanging out with friends at a North Kenwood neighborhood park.
Thirty minutes before the doors were set to open, hundreds stood waiting in line amid heavy security to get into Greater Harvest Baptist Church in the Washington Park neighborhood, about two miles from where the 15-year-old girl was gunned down last month. Among the groups of high school-age students waiting in the line was the King College Prep majorettes team, who came together in their yellow and black majorette coats.
Guests who were invited by the family were given orange wristbands and were able to enter through a shorter security line. Classmates and friends of Pendleton were given green wristbands and allowed to enter through that same line.
Trinity Dishmon, 40, said her daughter Deja, 15, and Hadiya were close friends in middle school. The two girls stayed in touch and were texting about their upcoming 16th birthdays while Hadiya was in D.C. for the president's inauguration in January.
"Hadiya was a gift to everyone that knew her," Dishmon said, tearing up. "These last 12 days have been unbelievably numbing. It's not six degrees of separation anymore, it's one. It's just unreal."
Dishmon said she feared that the day was less about the teenager and more about a larger issue.
"This is Hadiya's day and should be about her -- not something sensational," Dishmon said. "But maybe by honoring her life we can help make a difference."
Inside the church, Hadiya’s silver casket was placed in the front, surrounded by flowers and two large hearts, one with her picture on it. Behind the casket, a TV screen showed pictures of Hadiya with her family, from birth to her teenage years.
At 9:09 a.m., friends, students and others with wristbands were allowed to file down the aisle to view the body. Her young friends were seated in the front pews, directly behind the casket. Her classmates and friends filled the middle section of the church — 11 rows in all. Members of the Crystal Elegance Majorette squad held on to each other as they filed down the aisle in pairs to view the body.
A funeral director wearing a suit and white gloves came outside at 9:40 a.m. to announce to the hundreds still waiting in line that the church was “at capacity.” Those still in line could come in and view the body, he said, but would have to leave before the services.
The funeral procession arrived at about 9:45 a.m., including three limousines and dozens of cars.
The first lady’s motorcade pulled into the church parking lot at about 10:15 a.m. She went in through a separate side entrance at the rear of the church, stepping directly from a vehicle into the building.
At about the same time, the funeral director came back out and announced to the hundreds still waiting in line that no one else would be allowed inside — not for the viewing or the funeral.
Even after those outside were told they would not be allowed in, many continued to gather around the church's front gate.
Some began to file out, having to hop over the metal barricades to exit the long line.
One man asked the funeral staff member if he could at least have a pamphlet from the funeral before he left.
"Oh sir, those are long gone. They only printed 1,500," the funeral staff member said.
Activists, religious groups and others passed out printed material to those standing in line. Some kept the papers, others were left on the snowy ground as the crowds left.
Michelle Obama's attendance puts Chicago solidly in the middle of a national debate over gun violence that has polarized Congress and forced President Obama to take his gun control initiatives on the road to garner more public support.
The first lady's visit is being seen not only as a gesture of condolence to the family but as part of an effort to draw attention and support for the president's gun initiatives.
But the visit also meant scores of security, police and Secret Service agents, metal detectors and other security measures.
Other dignitaries were expected to attend the funeral, including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to Barack Obama.
The church is surrounded by an iron fence and all of the openings -- a pedestrian gate in the front, front and side doors to the church, and a driveway to the north -- are guarded by city police or men in white shirts, ties and long black coats. Chicago police vehicles -- two wagons, a handful of squads and SUVs -- guarded the outside of the church while other vehicles circle the block.
Chicago police staffing the event are wearing dress blues -- a blue overcoat with pockets that allow access to the duty belt, creased navy pants, and a hat.
King College Prep math and engineering teacher Alonzo Hoskins stood quietly in line with others. He said he taught Hadiya in his first-period geometry class, where he now has an empty desk.
"She was full of life," Hoskins said.
Hoskins looked at the sea of people that preceded him in line. "I want to support the family. For me, this isn't about the dignitaries," Hoskins said.
"But I don't know if I'll even get in."
Some waiting in line for the funeral said they didn't know the Pendletons personally but felt some connection to the teenager's death.
Earl Worthington, 51, said his mother was an elementary school teacher in Chicago and would have embraced a driven young student like Hadiya.
“She's the type of girl my mother would have produced in her class,” Worthington said. “I feel a connection to Hadiya's death through my mother. I feel my mother is with her right now in heaven.”
Nate Weathers, 16, Jeramy Brown, 16, and Antoine Fuller, 15, all stood in line to see their former classmate. The three young men said they attended Carter G. Woodson Middle School with Hadiya.
“This tears me up,” Fuller said. “She was my 7th grade crush.”
Brown described Hadiya as “sweet and innocent.”
“Something like this should have never happened to her,” Brown said.
Police took two men into custody after they got into an altercation near the back of the long line of mourners waiting to get into the church. One man was agitated, complaining about the long wait to get in. A second man confronted him and they began shoving each other before police intervened.
chicagobreaking@tribune.com
Twitter: @chicagobreaking
