Prairie State College Board of Education Chair Camiella Williams said the loss of a family member to gun violence was what prompted her to run for the board eight years ago. On Saturday, May 31, she presided over a gathering at the college of political leaders and families who advocated for continued effort to stop the violence.

The event was part of the Wear Orange movement and culminated in a release of orange balloons to honor the memory of people whose lives were cut short by violence.

Congresswoman Robin Kelly, D-Ill., who has focused during her public service career on combating gun violence, spoke at the event, as did 6th District Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller. The event also included testimony from a number of area residents who have lost loved ones because of gun violence, including Cleopatra Pendleton, mother of Hadiya Pendleton, who was killed in 2013, a week after she marched in an inauguration parade for former President Barack Obama’s second term.

Williams said the death of her cousin, Jaylin Durant, at 21 years old was what made her decide to run for office.

“He was murdered because he was left in the underserved community and his parents could not afford to send him to college,” she said. “So he was stuck. I decided that I wanted to run for trustee to continue to provide opportunities for young men just like Jaylin.”

She said the scourge of gun violence is a problem the people of the South Suburbs should work together to solve.

“The Southland will not be known as a place full of violence. The Southland will be known as a place of safety, a place of love, and a place of peace,” she said. “We are our own solution. We love each other, and we can support each other. It is our duty to fight for our freedom and it’s our duty to win.”

She announced that PSC would be hosting a violence prevention summit from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17.

Kelly announced that she and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., would be introducing for the 10th year a bicameral “Wear Orange” Resolution, which designates June 6 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day and the month of June as National Gun Violence Awareness Month.

She also recalled how gun violence influenced her political career. She decided to run for Congress shortly after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre late in 2012 that resulted in 26 deaths of students and teachers. Hadiya Pendleton was killed six weeks later. 

“I ran for office because I couldn’t stand by and watch as Congress did nothing as children were ripped away from their families,” Kelly said. She talked about the loss, especially when young people are killed. Not only do their family and friends experience grief and pain from then on, but their potential contributions to their communities and society are lost.

She said she supports community violence intervention organizations that “address the root cause of gun violence.” 

Miller talked about the county programs that are designed to support community violence prevention. 

“We have restorative justice, community courts, peace circles, community courts where we’re trying to get people back on the right path so that gun violence is not the answer to problems that they have in the community,” she said. 

Among the speakers who lost family members to gun violence, two were local mothers. Crystal Henderson’s son, Cleonte Henderson, was killed in 2019 in Glenwood, four months after he graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor High School. She is a registered nurse and a certified grief counselor.

“I buried myself into helping the community and others deal with the complexity and complications of the emotions when it comes to grief,” she said. “So not only do I stand before you as a grieving mother, I stand before you as a hopeful one. Hopeful that our voice will be louder than the violence.”

Delphine Cherry of Hazel Crest lost two children to gun violence. Her daughter was killed 32 years ago by a stray bullet as she came out of a theater. In 2012, her son, Tyler, was shot in her driveway. 

“The sad part about my son’s case is we didn’t get any justice. It’s still unsolved,” she said.

PSC President Michael Anthony offered introductory remarks as the event began. 

“This is not just an event where we disperse and return to our daily lives without further action. It is a statement of who we are and what we believe in as a college and as an entire community that will continue to advocate and fight against gun violence that takes the lives of so many innocent individuals in our cities,” he said.

Balloons for the release were provided by Derrick and Audrey James of Inflated Creations in Park Forest. They used biodegradable latex balloons and contained them in netting so there would be no strings to cause environmental problems.