CHICAGO — Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, mother of slain Chicago teen Hadiya Pendleton, will join other mothers who lost their black children to violence as headline speakers at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday.
Also headlining the night is former President Bill Clinton.
Cowley-Pendleton is a member of the "Mothers of the Movement," who have been brought together by the violent and prominent deaths of their black children.
Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has met with the group multiple times in Chicago since announcing her bid for the office, including at a public event in February.
The group has prominently supported of her presidential bid.
The group includes the mothers of Trayvon Martin — who was fatally shot in 2012 in Florida by George Zimmerman — and Michael Brown — who was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014.
Hadiya was fatally shot in Kenwood on Jan. 29, 2013, just days after performing at President Barack Obama's second inauguration. The Obamas have referred to Hadiya several times as a symbol of gun violence. Days after her death, her parents were invited to the 2013 State of the Union where the president said "Hadiya’s parents, Nate and Cleo, are in this chamber tonight, along with more than two dozen Americans whose lives have been torn apart by gun violence. They deserve a vote."
Another member of "Mothers of the Movement" is Annette Nance-Holt, mother of slain Chicago teen Blair Holt, shot and killed on a CTA bus in 2007. She isn't scheduled to take the stage Tuesday.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
