Fred Hampton
"You can kill the revolutionary, but you can't kill the revolution."
— Fred Hampton
40 years ago today, Black Panther Chairman and popular outspoken leader, Fred Hampton, was murdered by the Chicago Police Department, in a bloodbath, as he lay drugged and asleep in his apartment bed.
Fred was born and raised in Chicago and its suburbs. A natural leader he immediately became active as a youth organizer through the NAACP.
He coined the term "Rainbow Coalition" in 1969 in relation to his efforts in ending gang-related violence in Chicago and bringing together the youth there. Fred was instrumental in starting the free breakfast program which guaranteed inner-city kids at least one meal a day.
Fred became active with the Black Panthers as an adult. Far from being the stereotypical Panther radical thug, Fred Hampton brought his God-given oratory skills to the forefront and sought out non-violent change for black equality.
The FBI were alerted to Fred by the popular rallies he would hold in downtown Chicago. When Fred spoke thousands of people showed up to hear. He was super-intelligent, thought-out, dedicated and talented. And beyond that - he was a man who cared about changing the street paradigm - and he tried- very, very hard to do so.
The FBI COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) held Fred high on its "Agitator Index."
He was only 21 years old when he was shot multiple times by the very people supposed to protect and serve. Fred was assassinated like the other black leaders of the 1960's: Medgar Evers (1963), Malcolm X (1965), Rutledge Pearson (1967) and MLK, Jr. (1968), to name a few.
To quote Bernadine Dorhn of Weatherman infamy "They were locking us whites up...but they were killing the blacks."
— Fred Hampton
40 years ago today, Black Panther Chairman and popular outspoken leader, Fred Hampton, was murdered by the Chicago Police Department, in a bloodbath, as he lay drugged and asleep in his apartment bed.
Fred was born and raised in Chicago and its suburbs. A natural leader he immediately became active as a youth organizer through the NAACP.
He coined the term "Rainbow Coalition" in 1969 in relation to his efforts in ending gang-related violence in Chicago and bringing together the youth there. Fred was instrumental in starting the free breakfast program which guaranteed inner-city kids at least one meal a day.
Fred became active with the Black Panthers as an adult. Far from being the stereotypical Panther radical thug, Fred Hampton brought his God-given oratory skills to the forefront and sought out non-violent change for black equality.
The FBI were alerted to Fred by the popular rallies he would hold in downtown Chicago. When Fred spoke thousands of people showed up to hear. He was super-intelligent, thought-out, dedicated and talented. And beyond that - he was a man who cared about changing the street paradigm - and he tried- very, very hard to do so.
The FBI COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) held Fred high on its "Agitator Index."
He was only 21 years old when he was shot multiple times by the very people supposed to protect and serve. Fred was assassinated like the other black leaders of the 1960's: Medgar Evers (1963), Malcolm X (1965), Rutledge Pearson (1967) and MLK, Jr. (1968), to name a few.
To quote Bernadine Dorhn of Weatherman infamy "They were locking us whites up...but they were killing the blacks."
Over 5,000 people attended his funeral where he was eulogized by such notables as Jesse Jackson, who later stole Fred's Rainbow Coalition theme for himself, and Ralph Abernathy.
A federal suit was eventually settled to Fred's family for an undisclosed amount.
Chicago celebrated Fred Hampton day on 12/4/1992 as a way to heal and let feelings on both sides sort out, saying that "Fred Hampton, who was only 21 years old, made his mark in Chicago history not so much by his death as by the heroic efforts of his life and by his goals of empowering the most oppressed sector of Chicago's Black community, bringing people into political life through participation in their own freedom fighting organization."
A federal suit was eventually settled to Fred's family for an undisclosed amount.
Chicago celebrated Fred Hampton day on 12/4/1992 as a way to heal and let feelings on both sides sort out, saying that "Fred Hampton, who was only 21 years old, made his mark in Chicago history not so much by his death as by the heroic efforts of his life and by his goals of empowering the most oppressed sector of Chicago's Black community, bringing people into political life through participation in their own freedom fighting organization."
Wiki article on Fred
1 comment:
God Bless The Soul of Fred Hampton!!! How dare he care!!! What a Brave and Intelligent Man he was. Nice article,Thanks for keeping his memory ALIVE!!!! Another Great GUY who had his dreams ripped away while he was ironically......sleeping and DREAMING!!!
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