Obama Presidential Center Names Winter Garden After Hadiya Pendleton, Slain Teen Who Performed At Inauguration
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Hadiya Pendleton came back home to Chicago from the nation's capitol with aspirations of going into journalism or politics after she and her high school band performed at President Barack Obama's second inauguration in 2013, but tragically just days later she was shot and killed at a South Side park, just blocks from the Obama family home in Kenwood.
"We didn't have that much time with her, unfortunately, after attending the inauguration. So I don't know which way she would have actually gone," said her mother, Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton.
Hadiya, an honors student at King College Prep High School, has become a national symbol in the gun control debate in the years since, and now her name will grace a public space at the Obama Presidential Center, which recently began construction and is slated to open in 2015.
The "Hadiya Pendleton Winter Garden" will be part of the center's forum, which will also house an auditorium, creative spaces, a broadcast and recording studio, learning and meeting paces, and a restaurant.
In an announcement video, former First Lady Michelle Obama described the garden as "a dazzling public space, full of freshness and light."
"It will offer a warm welcome to all of the forum's visitors. It will be a place to gather, a place to connect, and hopefully to see the potential that lies in each and every person we cross paths with in that space," she said. "I know that Hadiya's loss is still raw and devastating for so many of us, especially on the South Side; but hopefully this garden can help share her light with even more people for generations to come."
While Michelle Obama and Hadiya never met, the former first lady attended Hadiya's funeral, and has become friends with her mother, Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton. She also attended Hadiya's funeral.
"I immediately understood the extraordinary power and potential that lay inside of this young woman, a potential that was stolen from us by the tragedy of gun violence," Mrs. Obama said. "To this day, I carry Hadiya's story with me everywhere I go, and as Barack and I have been planning the Obama Presidential Center, we knew that we wanted Hadiya's story to be present in the campus itself."
Cowley-Pendleton said when she learned the winter garden at the Obama Center would be named after Hadiya, "my heart just melted."
"I was at a loss for words, because I knew people would be saying her name. There's going to be so much life in this space that will house so many young people and individuals over time. So I believe that her legacy will continue to live on. Her story will continue to be told. That makes me, her dad, and her brother so honored," she said.
Cowley-Pendleton recalled the sense of thrill Hadiya felt when she went to D.C. to perform at President Obama's second inauguration with her high school band and majorette squad.
"Her gift was really behind the baton, and her unique way of twirling it. She was absolutely excited at the opportunity to perform at the inauguration," she said. "The girls were going crazy, and she came back saying she might want to go into journalism, or she might be interested in politics. We didn't have that much time with her, unfortunately, after attending the inauguration. So I don't know which way she would have actually gone."
The announcement that the Obama Center's winter garden will be named after Hadiya's death comes one day before the eighth anniversary of her murder.
Hadiya, whose name means "gift from God" in Arabic, still serves as inspiration for the non-profit her parents founded in her honor.
"Hadiya's Promise is a commitment to help people individuals where they are. So if you are without clothes, and we'd have clothes to give, we love to give them to you. If you are unfed, we'd love to feed you. There are people who have loved ones that have been murdered, and who are not getting follow-up the way that they believe they should. The whole point was to reach out to a population of people that need that support," Cowley-Pendleton said. "I think it's so important that people understand that Hadiya matters, because we all matter, and it's going to be beautiful to see how that shows up in the winter garden."
Hadiya's parents plan to continue their mission of spreading awareness about gun violence, and the Obama Foundation plans to host discussions with youths at the Hadiya Pendleton Winter Garden once it opens, and to continue supporting community organizations focused on anti-violence initiatives.