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There’s still time to RSVP to the virtual event to #SaveTheHamptonHouse, featuring Akua Njeri & Fred Hampton Jr. The goal is to buy back Fred Hampton’s childhood home & turn it into a community resource & museum in honor of Hampton’s legacy & the Black Liberation movement. 1/? https://twitter.com/crc_accomplices/status/1353429330010005505
In case you don’t know or understand how important Fred Hampton is to civil rights movements all over the world, we wrote this twitter thread.
Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party’s Illinois chapter, was born in Argo, Illinois. 2/?
Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party’s Illinois chapter, was born in Argo, Illinois. 2/?
He was neighbors w/ Emmett Till’s family. He spent most of his youth in Maywood, a west suburb of Chicago, & became involved in activism early when he forced his school to allow Black girls to compete for homecoming queen & became head of the school’s Inter-racial Council. 3/?
While in college, he pushed Maywood to fund a summer jobs program & organized a push for an integrated pool & recreational center. His activism caught the eye of Don Williams, head of the West Suburban Chapter of the NAACP, who asked him to create a youth section. 4/?
Hampton marched w/ Martin Luther King Jr several times but grew disenchanted w/ his nonviolent approach after experiencing violence firsthand from Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, & racists. 5/?
He looked to Malcolm X’s message of self-defense & the Black Panther Party. In November 1968, Bobby Rush, who is now a U.S. Representative for Illinois, & Hampton created the Black Panther Chapter in Chicago. Hampton was chairman while Rush was deputy minister. 6/?
Fred Hampton was a socialist & believed that the two evils facing the world were racism and capitalism. He created a philosophy and strategy that would combat both evils simultaneously, while engaging in coalition building. 7/?
You can listen to Fred Hampton clearly explaining his views on revolution, racism, and organizing in this clip:
And you can listen to Fred Hampton speaking on race and class in this clip:
https://twitter.com/comradeabdi/status/1359733341294051329?s=20
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And you can listen to Fred Hampton speaking on race and class in this clip:
https://twitter.com/comradeabdi/status/1359733341294051329?s=20
8/?
Hampton created the Rainbow Coalition, a multiracial movement that brought together Black, Latino, & White movements. It would include groups such as the Young Lords, the Young Patriots Organization, Students for Democratic Society, the Brown Berets, & the Red Guard Party. 9/?
Utilizing the ten-point program developed by Huey P. Newton & Bobby Seale, this coalition engaged in activities that combated poverty, corruption, police brutality, & substandard housing. They also partook in negotiating non-aggression pacts among Chicago’s gangs. 10/?
A video of Bobby Seale explaining the Ten Point Program 11/? https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/all-power-people
Under Hampton’s and Rush’s leader the Black Panthers took a militant stance in response to the racism and white supremacy culture that surrounded them. They clashed with the police during protests, strikes, and demonstrations. 12/?
The police officers hounded, harassed, & attempted to intimidate the Black Panthers, including their leader Fred Hampton who was arrested multiple times for overblown crimes such as traffic violations. 13/?
Yet, as Fred Hampton said, himself, “You can jail a revolutionary, but you can’t jail a revolution” 14/?
In 1968, FBI leader, J. Edgar Hoover declared the Black Panthers a massive security threat and ordered his agents to dismantle the organization. The FBI would create the secret and illegal CONTELPRO program, to target several civil rights leaders, 15/?
including Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Elijah Muhammad and others. The FBI used a wide range of tactics such as mail openings, phone taps and bugs, burglaries, and paid informants. 16/?
The FBI received a tip that Fred Hampton was being tapped to replace David Hillard in the Panther’s national patty & they made him one of their top targets. They were afraid of what Hampton would be able to accomplish as a national leader. 17/?
Two FBI agents were put in charge of carrying out a raid to murder Fred Hampton, using information they gathered from their key informant, William O’Neal, the chief of security for the Black Panther Party. 18/?
The FBI would provide this information to the Chicago State Attorney and police, who would commit the actual murder. 19/? https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/2/9/22267037/fred-hampton-black-panther-chicago-life-death-legacy
Chicago police raided the Black Panther Party’s headquarters at 5am on Dec 4, 1969. They entered Hampton’s apartment & murdered him (while his fiancée Akua Njeri was sleeping next to him) & Mark Clark, a downstate party leader. The police fired 90+ bullets during the raid. 20/?
Read Akua Njeri’s own words about the raid:
https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/12/04/50-years-ago-fred-hampton-was-murdered-by-police-each-year-his-loved-ones-gather-to-tell-his-story-this-legacy-is-under-attack/
Watch Fred Hampton Jr talking the death of his father:
https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/12/04/50-years-ago-fred-hampton-was-murdered-by-police-each-year-his-loved-ones-gather-to-tell-his-story-this-legacy-is-under-attack/
Watch Fred Hampton Jr talking the death of his father:
Chicago’s state attorney, Edward V. Hanrahan, claimed that the police entered the building searching for illegal weapons, were fired upon by the Black Panthers, and only returned fire after their demands to cease fire and to come out with their hands up were ignored. 22/?
The police claimed that a gun was found next to Hampton’s hand & he shot at them, using bullet holes in the walls as evidence. The FBI assisted in the cover up by suppressing critical documents and lying about their involvement. 23/?
In 1976, the People’s Law Office brought forth a federal civil rights case on behalf of Fred Hampton’s & Mark Clark’s families & the survivors of the raid. During this trial, important documents were uncovered, revealing the extent of the FBI’s involvement in the his murder 24/?
but the court absolved the FBI agents involved, the Chicago State’s Attorney, and the police officers involved with the raid. The case was pursued for 13 years until the government finally settled, one of the largest police violence settlements in federal court history. 25/?
Also, read Flint Taylor, one of the leading litigators of the 13year long battle, interview about the trial. 26/? https://truthout.org/articles/50-years-ago-today-police-murdered-fred-hampton-his-activism-lives-on/
Despite everything Chicago law enforcement, the FBI, & the US government did to kill Fred Hampton’s and the Black Panther’s legacy, his memory has endured. 27/?
Last year, for the 50th anniversary of his death poet Haki R. Madhubuti wrote this poem in Hampton’s honor:
https://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/December-2019/Haki-Madhubuti-Fred-Hampton-Poem/
And Representative Bobby Rush gave this tribute:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4835485/user-clip-remembering-fred-hampton
28/?
https://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/December-2019/Haki-Madhubuti-Fred-Hampton-Poem/
And Representative Bobby Rush gave this tribute:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4835485/user-clip-remembering-fred-hampton
28/?
And of course there is a new movie coming out this weekend: Judas and the Black Messiah, bringing more awareness to Fred Hampton’s life and legacy. 29/? https://www.google.com/amp/s/chicago.suntimes.com/platform/amp/movies-and-tv/2021/2/10/22275377/fred-hampton-jr-judas-black-messiah-shaka-king-daniel-kaluuya-njeri-panthers-bobby-rush-maywood
There is a campaign to #SaveTheHamptonHouse. Today, at 5pm Fred Hampton’s fiancé Akua Njeri & his son Fred Hampton Jr, will be participating in a virtual event to raise funds for the Hampton House. You can still RSVP below, 30/? https://twitter.com/crc_accomplices/status/1353429330010005505?s=20
but if you can’t make the event, then you can still donate to Save the Hampton House here: 31/? https://www.gofundme.com/f/SaveTheHamptonHouse51?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet
Resources to learn more abt Fred Hampton 32/?
Fred Hampton Assassination: A People’s History with #BlackPantherParty Lawyer Flint Taylor: a podcast episode with Flint Taylor, discussing the trial against the FBI https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fred-hampton-assassination-peoples-history-blackpantherparty/id1524242837?i=1000500874919
Fred Hampton Assassination: A People’s History with #BlackPantherParty Lawyer Flint Taylor: a podcast episode with Flint Taylor, discussing the trial against the FBI https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fred-hampton-assassination-peoples-history-blackpantherparty/id1524242837?i=1000500874919
Episode with Marshall Eddie Conway on Fred Hampton’s legacy: a podcast episode with Marshall Eddie Conway discussing Fred Hampton’s legacy & how it connects BLMs
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eddie-conway-talks-fred-hampton-amid-new-wave-police/id1130613151?i=1000489686747
A podcast episode discussing the life and legacy of Fred Hampton
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3itZZSx5vY6ytiemdjJhuk?si=4i6YzmjXT3eTAIliVGo2mQ
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eddie-conway-talks-fred-hampton-amid-new-wave-police/id1130613151?i=1000489686747
A podcast episode discussing the life and legacy of Fred Hampton
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3itZZSx5vY6ytiemdjJhuk?si=4i6YzmjXT3eTAIliVGo2mQ
A TedTalk about the history of the Black Panther Party and Fred Hampton
https://www.ted.com/talks/curtis_austin_the_real_story_of_the_black_panther_party/transcript?language=en
A transcript of one of Fred Hampton’s speeches: It’s a Class Struggle Goddamnit:
https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/its-a-class-struggle-goddammit-fred-Hampton
https://www.ted.com/talks/curtis_austin_the_real_story_of_the_black_panther_party/transcript?language=en
A transcript of one of Fred Hampton’s speeches: It’s a Class Struggle Goddamnit:
https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/its-a-class-struggle-goddammit-fred-Hampton
A transcript of one of Fred Hampton’s speeches: Power Anywhere WHere There’s People
https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/power-anywhere-where-theres-people-fred-hampton
A Twitter thread full of more resources about Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers https://twitter.com/HSGlobalHistory/status/1359651372434604032?s=20
https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/power-anywhere-where-theres-people-fred-hampton
A Twitter thread full of more resources about Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers https://twitter.com/HSGlobalHistory/status/1359651372434604032?s=20
The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther-a book about the Assassintion of Fred Hampton https://bookshop.org/books/the-assassination-of-fred-hampton-how-the-fbi-and-the-chicago-police-murdered-a-black-panther/9781641603218
Black Against Empire: the History and Politics of the Black Panther Party- a book about the Black Panther Party https://bookshop.org/books/black-against-empire-the-history-and-politics-of-the-black-panther-party-9780520293281/9780520293281
