Mary Dieudonne-Hill, a mother who lives in south suburban Homewood, Ill., knows all about the pain gun violence inflicts on a family.
In 2016, her daughter, Alisia, was attending North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, she recently told me in an interview. “She was the last of five kids. She was the youngest. She had a very bright future. I invested a lot in my daughter. She did a cotillion. She had a scholarship for engineering in North Carolina A&T.”
On a terrible October night, Alisia, 19, was playing cards with friends at an off-campus party. A fight broke out. Someone started shooting. Alisia was fatally shot, along with another student, Ahmad Campbell, 21.
In the six years since, Dieudonne-Hill has fought depression, panic attacks, and at times was unable to work as a special education teacher. This year was the first time she was able to go Christmas shopping.
Source: Laura Washington: A mother fights to end gun violence