Oral history interview with Cleopatra Cowley, 2021
Abstract
Cleopatra Cowley discusses raising her children in Chicago, shares stories of her daughter Hadiya Pendleton, and reflects on her path to activism and advocacy work following Hadiya's murder in January 2013. Cowley remembers Hadiya's trip to Washington, D.C., during which she performed as a majorette in celebrations for President Obama's second inauguration, as well as the outpouring of love and adm iration from Hadiya's friends and peers at her funeral, which Michelle Obama attended. Cowley also describes her and her husband's attendance at the 2013 State of the Union address, at which they were guests of the first lady, and during which President Obama spoke of Hadiya's murder and the need for gun control legislation. Also discussed are Cowley's memories of the 2008 presidential election, the problem of gun violence in Chicago and across the United States, Cowley's connections with other mothers whose children were victims of gun violence or police brutality, and the founding of Hadiya's Promise, a non-governmental organization focused on gun violence and the connections between young people and their communities
Cleopatra Cowley is the mother of Hadiya Pendleton, who was a fifteen-year-old honor student at King College Preparatory High School in Chicago at the time of her murder on January 29, 2013, one week after she performed at President Obama's second ina uguration. In the wake of her death, Hadiya became a national symbol of gun violence, and her funeral service was attended by First Lady Michelle Obama. Cowley became a vocal advocate against gun violence, and she attended the 2013 State of the Union address as a guest of First Lady Michelle Obama
Note
Interviewed by Terrell D. Frazier on November 10, 2021. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Cleopatra Cowley, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023