When I Met Forever: Cleopatra Cowley

Jul 15, 2025
34 mins

Episode Description

Kanoya Ali and Peter Cunningham are joined by Cleopatra "Cleo" Cowley, founder of Hadiya's Promise and mother of Hadiya Pendleton, the 15-year-old honor student who was shot and killed in Chicago in 2013, just days after performing at President Obama's second inauguration.

Cleo shares her profound journey of loss and transformation, describing how tragedy unlocked her voice and propelled her into advocacy work she never imagined doing. She speaks candidly about "meeting forever" - her powerful phrase for the permanent reality of losing a child - and how that experience reshaped her understanding of how trauma from gun violence ripples through families and communities.

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