A “Fred Hampton is amazing” Thread

We lost a real one on Dec 4th.

Rest In Power Fred Hampton.

What impresses me the most about Fred was his ability to connect structure-based organizing to revolutionary socialist ideological political education.

This separated him from many of his peers in BPP who were strong in terms of ideological orientation but lacked core organizing skills needed to sustain an organization or campaigns.

In many commemorations of Fred they usually speak more to his ideological beliefs as well as his great solidarity work of building the Rainbow Coalition.

This of course is important to recognize but I think it misses how dysfunctional organizationally BPP was at the time due to a lack of organizing leadership & skills training & of course COINTELPRO. This was also true of the Chicago Chapter.

Fred’s work especially in the Chicago Chapter built out a meaningful org & campaign base & was pivotal in beginning to build out the BPP from a cadre org to a mass org.

A few other things that I feel get missed about Fred.

He grew up in the suburbs, Summit & then Maywood

Graduated Proviso East with Honors

Parents worked at Argo Starch Company, which in relative terms provided Black folks access to a “middle class” life.

I point all this out to demystify the “lumpen proletariat”, “man of the streets” persona we sometimes attach to Fred and other leadership of the BPP.

But I think his work a youth organizer for the NAACP was most impressive. He was able to build out the local NAACP youth organizing program to 500 members and lead campaigns for better community facilities and education resources for Black folks on the westside and west suburbs.

To put that number in perspective BPP at its height nationwide only had 5000 members. Fred’s NAACP work demonstrates Fred’s commitment and ability to do base building organizing & he certainly brought those skills to BPP.

So please when we commemorate Fred, lets remember the great orator, political educator, believer of revolutionary socialism, & coalition creator.

But lets also remember Fred Hampton, the great base building organizer and campaigner.