Fred Hampton

Fred Hampton (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was a radical African American

Aftermath

At a press conference the next day, the police announced the arrest team had

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been "attacked" by the "violent" and "extremely vicious" Panthers and had

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defended themselves accordingly. In a second press conference on December 8, in

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which the assault team was praised for their "remarkable restraint" "bravery"

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and "professional discipline" in not killing all the Panthers present.

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Photographic evidence was presented of bullet holes made by shots fired by the

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Panthers, but this was soon demolished by reporters, causing an uproar. A

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hasty internal investigation was undertaken, exonerating the assault team. But

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investigators themselves later admitted it was a "whitewash". It took years of

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incessant public pressure to expose the lies, and eventually it was proven that

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all but one of the ninety-nine shots were fired by the police.

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Hampton's funeral was attended by 5,000 people, and he was eulogized by such

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black leaders as Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King's

Related Topics:
Jesse Jackson - Ralph Abernathy - Martin Luther King

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successor as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In his

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eulogy, Jackson noted that "when Fred was shot in Chicago, black people in

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particular, and decent people in general, bled everywhere."

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The officers involved in the raid were cleared by a grand jury of any crimes.

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The families of Hampton and Clark filed a $47.7 million civil suit against the

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city, state, and federal governments. More than a decade later, the suit was

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finally settled, and the two families each received a large but undisclosed sum.

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In 1990, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution declaring "Fred Hampton

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Day" in honor of the slain leader.

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The Chicago City Council unanimously approved a resolution introduced by former Alderwoman Marlene C. Carter commemorating Dec. 4, 2004, as "Fred Hampton Day in Chicago."

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The resolution reads in part: "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."

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Hampton was one of the most dynamic, inspiring freedom fighters of any generation. One of his most notable quotes was, "You can kill a revolutionary but you can never kill the revolution."

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