Gun violence & torture
The January 2013 death of gifted young 15-year-old student Hadiya Pendelton became the incident that represented how troubling the violence in Chicago had become. Nathaniel Pendelton, Hadiya’s father, described how his life changed after a bullet meant for a rival gang member killed his little girl.
“There were no gang members, just the volleyball team,” said Mr. Pendelton. “Today, I am determined—by committing to ending gun violence—to honor the lessons of her life and her death, as painful as that is. She always wanted to make a difference, and she already has,” he added
“Fifteen months ago she was shot, but it was like it was 15 minutes ago,” said Cleopatra Pendelton, Hadiya’s mother.
Chicago’s sordid history of torture by members of the Chicago Police Department spans several decades and has damaged the lives of many. It was a major point of discussion during the weekend.
Darrell Cannon and Anthony Holmes, both torture victims talked about what happened to them, their coerced confessions, false imprisonment, and living with the pain of what took place decades ago. A march and rally was held April 4 downtown.
Margaret Huang, Deputy Executive Director of Campaigns and Programs for Amnesty International USA said the group coming to Chicago was not an attempt to merely capitalize on existing problems to get people into the seats and draw media attention for the conference. AIUSA’s presence here actually represents a concentrated and renewed commitment to a domestic focus, in the process of building a global movement.
“We’ve been working on the death penalty in the United States for decades, we’ve been working on issues of economic rights in the United States for a decade, so it is not new, but what I will say is, it is a renewed commitment to doing this work,” said Ms. Huang. “We’re building a global movement, and you’re not global if you’re not working in the country where you are and if you’re not looking at the violations in your back yard just as you’re looking at the violations in somebody else’s.”
The violations are many, especially as it relates to the Black experience in America. The high profile cases of innocent and unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin, killed by George Zimmerman, and the death of innocent and unarmed Jordan Davis, killed by Michael Dunn were mentioned often throughout the weekend as examples of why the human rights issue remains important. Mass incarceration, poor health care and education are stubborn issues with within the Black community