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Dominique Hodrick / Photo from Chicago Police

Dominique Hodrick has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting 58-year-old Brooks special education teacher Betty Howard last month in the Chatham neighborhood.

Hodrick is accused of shooting Howard about 5:30 p.m. in the 7900 block of South Evans Avenue, authorities said.

Howard, of the 2200 block of South 14th Avenue in Broadview, was shot working her second job in her Chatham real estate office, her family said.

As a teacher at Brooks, Howard would travel to homes to teach disabled students - doing whatever it took to help some of the city's most challenged youth, Brooks College Preparatory Academy Principal D'Andre Weaver said.

Howard, who taught at Brooks for seven years, even rode school buses to help out when school aides were absent, Weaver said.

"It's crazy, she wasn't a thief, she didn't harm anyone," Long said, noting Howard's brother, Orlando Long, is a police officer. "This isn't how it was supposed to end for her."

Hodrick, 33, of the 7900 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, police said.

A 23-year-old woman was also wounded in the shooting and Hodrick was charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, police said.

In 2011, Hodrick was charged with possession of a firearm and not having a Firearms Owner ID card. The gun charge was dropped. He pleaded guilty to the FOID charge and was sentenced two years of probation, which he completed on March 4, according to court records.

Hodrick is expected in bond court later Thursday.

- Chicago Sun-Times staff

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Dominique Hodrick charged with murder in death of Brooks teacher Betty Howard

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Dominique Hodrick / Photo from Chicago Police Dominique Hodrick has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting 58-year-old Brooks special education teacher Betty Howard last month in the Chatham neighborhood. Hodrick is accused of shooting Howard about 5:30 p.m. in the 7900 block of South Evans Avenue, authorities said.

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White House Student Film Festival (Official Selection) 2015- Chicago- C.H.A.M.P.S. Mentoring Film

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The C.H.A.M.P.S Mentoring Program is a powerful young men's program dedicated to the young men at Gary Comer College Prep. The Video was filmed with nearly 100 young men and mentors on the Southside of Chicago at the Gary Comer Youth Center, Gary Comer College Prep, and the Ring of Hope Empowerment Zone.

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"What about black on black crime?" is always a deflection tactic.  The vast majority of crime in the U.S. is intraracial.

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As a protest against violence toward African-Americans, Black Lives Matter burst onto the national scene just two years ago. But according to Harvard scholars, it is a movement that has historical roots that go back more than 300 years.

"Violence against black lives began when slave ships brought black people to America," said Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, the Victor S. Thomas Professor of History and of African and African American Studies.

"In the history of African-Americans, the story of struggle has been a constant one," she told an overflowing crowd Tuesday at Robinson Hall Lower Library.

Sponsored by the Harvard History Department, the seminar "#BlackLivesMatter in Historical Perspective" underscored the growing movement for racial justice taking hold across the country.

On Monday, the president of the University of Missouri resigned in the wake of student protests against racial tensions.

In August 2014, Black Lives Matter chapters demonstrated after Michael Brown was shot dead by white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo.

The movement was born in 2013 after a Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman of second-degree murder in the shooting death of African-American teenager Trayvon Martin.

Higginbotham drew parallels between earlier protest movements and Black Lives Matter, which describes itself as a chapter-based national organization working against police violence and anti-black racism.

She compared Black Lives Matter to the anti-lynching campaign of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, led by Ida B. Wells and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which was founded in 1909. The campaign brought international attention to "extrajudicial killings of black people" in the United States, Higginbotham said.

"Some were lynched because they stood up to a landowner. Some were lynched because they crossed the color line, consensually; and some were lynched because they were successful," Higginbotham said.

"The NAACP understood that you didn't have to look a certain way to be lynched," she added, "because they lived daily with the fear of not only violence but with the fear of constant segregation."

Walter Johnson, Winthrop Professor of History and a professor of African and African American studies, spoke about St. Louis' history of segregated neighborhoods.

"St. Louis, Missouri, is to this day one of the most racially segregated cities in the United States," said Johnson. "What happened in Ferguson is that the history of structural racism was expressed in the systemic racism of the Ferguson police department."

Black Lives Matter also bears similarities to the Black Power movement of the 1960s and '70s, said Brandon Terry, an assistant professor of African and African American Studies and social studies. That movement, he said, also supported black self-determination and aimed to galvanize the public into action.

Terry said Black Lives Matter represents a unique moment in the history of black political thought because it rejects the idea of "black uplift," which proposes that educated blacks are responsible for the well-being of the black population.

"Black Lives Matter folks don't get dragged into that argument," said Terry. "They think that's not what they're supposed to do and that it's kind of crazy to think that a group of activists are supposed to solve this centuries-long problem."

In shedding light on African-American life from the beginning of slavery to the anti-lynching crusade to the Civil Rights Movement, the speakers shared their hope that history can provide clues for Black Lives Matter to achieve its stated goal of changing a "world where black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise."

"History is crucial," said Elizabeth Hinton, an assistant professor of history and of African and African American Studies. "It helps us figure out ways in which we can move forward and transcend the institutions and systems that have made black lives not matter for the entire history of this nation."

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As a protest against violence toward African-Americans, Black Lives Matter burst onto the national scene just two years ago. But according to Harvard scholars, it is a movement that has historical roots that go back more than 300 years. "Violence against black lives began when slave ships brought black people to America," said Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, the Victor S.

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Gwendolyn Brooks Academy special education teacher Dr. Betty Howard was the innocent victim of a shooting Thursday that left two others wounded.

Her family gathered on the corner of East 79th Street Friday night at the real estate office where she was shot and killed.

Police shut down the street and setup chairs and tables for a gathering of residents, pastors, elected officials and activists that demanded action and accountability.

"There's no way in hell Mrs. Howard should've been struck by that bullet yesterday," said community activist Andrew Holmes. "There's no way in hell these people should still be on the street."

"Why as families are we supposed to accept this, why as families are we supposed to bury our loved ones," said Joy McCormack, Chicago Citizens for Change.

Howard was hit and killed by a stray bullet late Thursday afternoon while working her second job at a real estate office in the 700 block of East 79th Street. The bullet pierced her neck and killed her. Police said shots rang out outside the office among rival gang members.

As Howard's family gathered at her childhood home Friday, they stopped to reflect on a woman who cherished family, and her faith.

"She had a things to do list that really got to me, it was like things to do: 'Praise God,'" said Lynn Long, sister-in-law.

Howard's brother, a Chicago police officer, knows all too well about the violence in the area, but never thought it would hit so close to home.

"I have to be strong for all of the family members that are around me, that's the only way I'm holding on right now," Orlando Long said.

Dr. Betty Howard, as she was referred to, touched many lives, especially those of her students.

She was the head of the special education department at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep Academy. Students released balloons Friday in her honor and shared their stories of their beloved teacher.

"I know a couple of kids that actually went to her for help and it seemed like she was always trying to help out and do the best for kids," said Isaac Simmons, a student.

Howard, 58, was a wife, mother and grandmother, and an avid card player. She played with a group of friends that is hearing the news - they said she will be missed terribly.

"It really was a great experience to meet someone that was so outgoing that loved family and friends, a people person that inspired people to do better," said Guthrie Bonnett, a friend.

A $2,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to an arrest in the shooting that also wounded two others. Anyone with information is urged to call 1-800-U-TELL-US.

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Special ed teacher killed by stray bullet remembered at vigil

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Gwendolyn Brooks Academy special education teacher Dr. Betty Howard was the innocent victim of a shooting Thursday that left two others wounded. Her family gathered on the corner of East 79th Street Friday night at the real estate office where she was shot and killed.

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 The lack of education and resources that african americans has may lead to homicides in urban areas because of the system.

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 The lack of education and resources that african americans has may lead to homicides in urban areas because of the system.