Ghazal: An Eastern Ode to Honor Chicago Gun Violence Victims

By Summer Haris
In this Feb. 9, 2013 file photo, Danyia Bell, 16, left, and Artureana Terrell, 16, react as they read a program after the funeral service for 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton outside the Greater Harvest Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries including first lady Michelle Obama packed the funeral service for the Chicago teen whose killing catapulted her into the nation’s debate over gun violence. Since her death, the number of homicides and other violent crimes that turned Chicago into a national symbol of gun violence have fallen sharply after the city and police changed strategies.
In this Feb. 9, 2013 file photo, Danyia Bell, 16, left, and Artureana Terrell, 16, react as they read a program after the funeral service for 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton outside the Greater Harvest Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries including first lady Michelle Obama packed the funeral service for the Chicago teen whose killing catapulted her into the nation's debate over gun violence. Since her death, the number of homicides and other violent crimes that turned Chicago into a national symbol of gun violence have fallen sharply after the city and police changed strategies. Nam Y. Huh/AP, file
In this Feb. 9, 2013 file photo, Danyia Bell, 16, left, and Artureana Terrell, 16, react as they read a program after the funeral service for 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton outside the Greater Harvest Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries including first lady Michelle Obama packed the funeral service for the Chicago teen whose killing catapulted her into the nation’s debate over gun violence. Since her death, the number of homicides and other violent crimes that turned Chicago into a national symbol of gun violence have fallen sharply after the city and police changed strategies.
In this Feb. 9, 2013 file photo, Danyia Bell, 16, left, and Artureana Terrell, 16, react as they read a program after the funeral service for 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton outside the Greater Harvest Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries including first lady Michelle Obama packed the funeral service for the Chicago teen whose killing catapulted her into the nation's debate over gun violence. Since her death, the number of homicides and other violent crimes that turned Chicago into a national symbol of gun violence have fallen sharply after the city and police changed strategies. Nam Y. Huh/AP, file

Ghazal: An Eastern Ode to Honor Chicago Gun Violence Victims

By Summer Haris
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For more than a month, the national focus has been on school shootings. But here in Chicago, young people continue to die from gun violence in their neighborhoods, especially in communities of color. To honor those young victims, a Chicago poet has reached back to an ancient form called a Ghazal, a poem that can sometimes be set to music. Samina Hadi-Tabassum is a writer and clinical associate professor at the Erikson Institute in Chicago. Her poem “A Ghazal For Hadiya” was published this week on The Triibe.com, a site that showcases stories of interest to black millennials in Chicago.

GUEST:

Samina Hadi-Tabassum, clinical associate professor at the Erikson Institute in Chicago