I’ve been reading up on Hampton and the work he did uniting the poor of Chicago across racial lines. He was a community hero, dedicated to uplifting people through collective action. And he was killed for it. https://twitter.com/haymarketbooks/status/1334724109394190338

I didn’t learn about Hampton from school. I do remember a mention of how the Black Panthers fed their neighborhood, but even in liberal-leaning suburban New York that was offered up as a “so maybe they weren’t ALL bad” nod at being “fair-and-balanced”

But that all comes back to how we were taught about the 60s civil rights movement, isn’t it? Rosa Parks refused to stand up, MLK marched and told everyone about his dream, and some people didn’t like it, but eventually America allowed Black ppl to vote! Then MLK was shot :(

Always the preoccupation with MLK’s non-violence, never a mention of his calls for economic justice. A concession that “the Black Panthers weren’t ALL bad,” never an explanation for why they felt it necessary to protect themselves from police.

*MLK was an advocate for socialist economic redistribution. The Panthers armed themselves because American police have been brutalizing Black people for as long as the institution has existed.

If you didn’t know about Fred Hampton, take a moment to educate yourself today, and think on how echoes of that history can still be seen today.