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I don't think people realize how young Medgar, Malcolm, and Martin were. Not one of them saw 40.
Let me be clear. I intentionally did not add Fred Hampton to this list. Along with about 40 other people. These three are, arguably, the most famous faces of the movement. Gimme some time, I'll get to the BPP, Clyde Kennard, Mark Clark & a bunch of others we weren't taught about
Ok before I do this, let me be clear. I am leaving a LOT of details out because I'm sleepy and this is a rabbit hole you really need to go down yourself to fully appreciate how fucked up it is. There are several things I'm going to mention that could be their own threads.
Also, I'm not gonna debate you or argue with you about the BPP. They could have changed this country for the better, but J Edgar Hoover and the rest of the government were scared of organized, educated, and armed black people.
Ok. So. Fred Hampton. If Fred had been allowed to live, this would be a different country. Arguably, he was on track to bring about a change greater than the legacy of MLK. (don't argue with me about it, you're not changing my mind)
I'm gonna skip his early youth and teen years, where he lobbied for black folks to be nominated for homecoming king & queen(they got a black queen that year
Their first.) he also lobbied for more black teachers and counselors(and got them)
Their first.) he also lobbied for more black teachers and counselors(and got them)
In the summer he got himself and the other guys in his neighborhood jobs, you can go do your Googles, they're good for you. Fred Hampton was the epitome of the grass roots movement leader. He lead by example with grace.
So yea, he was just that good he got the city of Maywood, IL to fund a summer job program. Helping others was his spirit. He started the west suburban youth chapter of the NAACP at 17. He matched with Dr. King. He was with the movement.
One day at a March, a racist spit in the face of a protester. He left the NAACP soon after, bc"he couldn't keep marching for nonviolence in the face of violent mobs". He left the NAACP and joined the BPP He was soon head of the Chicago chapter. His mission was to empower the ppl
Education was of the utmost importance to Fred.
He organized and developed peace between gangs. Across race and color lines he brought a unity to Chicago.
Fred Hampton started the original Rainbow Coalition, not Jesse Jackson. Google it.
Fred Hampton started the original Rainbow Coalition, not Jesse Jackson. Google it.
So Fred was doing all this organizing, breakfast programs, educational programs, gang truces.....all of this good got him on the FBI's radar.
J Edgar Hoover was always on the lookout for the "black messiah" so that they could be snuffed out. COINTELPRO had a whole list of goals that would achieve their ends (no, really, Google COINTELPRO, they helped destroy the black community)
They kept close tabs on him. Pulled him over so much he quit driving. He was on their radar but they wanted closer contact.
Enter bitchass William O'Neil.
O'Neil had stolen a car and went joyriding. He enjoyed it so much he crossed state lines. He got popped. Trying to find his way out of doing time, he got recruited by the FBI to join the BPP in Chicago. So he did.
O'Neil had stolen a car and went joyriding. He enjoyed it so much he crossed state lines. He got popped. Trying to find his way out of doing time, he got recruited by the FBI to join the BPP in Chicago. So he did.
O'Neil got called out once at a meeting for saying that he was building a rocket launcher. Fred said he was crazy, he acted suspicious, and accused him of being a police agent. I'm not sure how he got out of that, but he did. File this away for later.
All the while, COINTELPRO was in the background pulling strings and undermining. Secret letters nshit. Do your Googles.
Just know division was sewn between the BPP and the gangs they'd united, and the organizations within the Rainbow Coalition. Lots of arrests and charges and a few gun battles. Cops died. Panthers died. Pretty interesting the lengths the cops went to to smear and discredit the BPP
In November 1969 Fred went to California and meet with the national BPP leadership. They offered him the position of chief of staff and asked him to serve as the national spokesperson. Dec 3rd 1969 Fred Hampton taught a political education class in a local church and headed home
To his apartment. He was joined by 10 other Panthers, including O'Neil, who'd cooked a late dinner. It was at this time that O'Neil slipped a seconal in Fred's drink. Seconal will lay you OWT. And Fred didn't do drugs or drink. So you know it hit him especially hard.
Eventually everyone went to bed, except O'Neil. He left. File this away for later.
So check it. Around 4:45am there's noise at the door and then volleys of gunfire. Police filled the apartment. Folks tried to wake Fred up, but, seconal said nah. With Fred incapacitated and bullets flying into the bedroom, his fiance climbed on top of him to shield him.
Deborah Johnson was 8 months pregnant.
The police snatched her off the bed by her hair and threw her in the kitchen. The gunfire continued. Overheard was "he's barely alive, He'll barely make it". Two final shots were heard, along with "Well, he's good and dead now."
91 shots fired in about ten minutes. The police claimed it was a shootout and they were defending themselves.
Buuuut, they were so cocky, they didn't secure the crime scene. So the BPP lawyers and cameramen went in and collected evidence. All of the shell casings. Bullet trajectories. One Panther fired a shot.
Mark Clark who, in a death spasm after being shot in the heart by police, fired his shotgun. The shot went vertical.
The cops continued to lie and smear Fred and the BPP. A legacy was cut short.
The cops continued to lie and smear Fred and the BPP. A legacy was cut short.
After several lawsuits and the declassification of COINTELPRO documents, it was revealed that William O'Neal was, in fact, an FBI informant. He drew the layout of Fred's apartment down to the bed he'd be sleeping in. He was the one who'd drugged him. For this he received $300.
William O'Neal's family says he was tortured by the guilt of what he'd done. On MLK day, 1990 he got drunk and ran onto the expressway. His death was ruled a suicide.
Fred Hampton was 21 when he was murdered. For educating and uniting people.
