Derrion Albert funeral draws throng

There were a few sobs heard, but mostly the nearly 1,000 people who attended Derrion Albert’s funeral were well composed.

The cavernous sanctuary of Greater Mount Hebron Church was filled to standing room only Saturday, but it was quiet. There were a few sobs heard, but mostly the nearly 1,000 people who attended Derrion Albert’s funeral were well composed.

The services held for Albert, the 16-year-old honor student who was bludgeoned to death during a melee captured on video and transmitted around the world, caused an entire community–an entire city–to pause and consider the loss.

Police say Derrion Albert, a sophomore at Fenger High School, got caught in the middle of a neighborhood skirmish between Fenger students who were residents of the Altgeld Gardens public housing complex, and residents of the neighborhood surrounding the high school, known as “the Ville.” Albert, who was not a part of either faction, was reportedly trying to catch a bus home, blocks away from the South Side school, when he was accosted by the mob. He was punched and then hit in the head with a six-foot railroad tie. As he crumpled to the ground, he was hit with another punch and pitched face forward to the pavement.

An amateur photographer captured the assault on his cell phone, and recorded several of the participants kick and punch Albert as he lie on the ground. Finally, as he was trying to get up and get away, another youth came on him with yet another railroad tie and brought it down on his head, according to the video. More participants kicked and stomped his motionless body and finally workers from the nearby Agape Community Center came out to pull him out of harm’s way. Albert was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The video, which was sold to a local television station, which then turned it over to police, caught the attention of the Obama White House, which has dispatched Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan (formerly the CEO of Chicago Public Schools) to Chicago to discuss the beating.

Four teens – Silvanus Shannon, 19, Eugene Bailey, 18, Eugene Riley, 18 and Eric Carson, 16 – have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the beating death. Three others are being sought, police said.

But as Mt. Hebron’s Pastor E.F. Ledbetter said at the outset, “we’re not here to bury Derrion Albert, we’re here to celebrate his life.”

The wake and funeral were held at the church to handle the tremendous outpouring of well-wishers. Albert’s family church is Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, and his pastor, Pastor Jimmy D. Cutts, delivered the eulogy.

When gospel vocalist Kim Stratton opened up with “Jehovah Jireh,” the gathering became more animated and mourners were singing along with the chorus, quietly.

In attendance were several local officials, including Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County Dorothy Brown, Ald. Carrie Austin, Chicago Police superintendent Jody Weis and Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman. Rev. Jesse Jackson delivered words of encouragement and Nation of Islam leader Min. Louis Farrakhan and national NAACP President and CEO Ben Jealous were also on hand for support.

Rev. Jackson said that children must have safe passage to school and called on the community to step up to keep students safe.

The Pleasant Hill Baptist Church choir delivered the final musical offering before the recessional.

Financial donations for the family can be sent to Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, 7950 S. Normal Ave.

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