Fred Hampton (activist)
Fred Hampton was an influential civil rights activist born on August 30, 1948, in Illinois. Initially a gifted student with aspirations of becoming a professional baseball player, he shifted his focus to civil rights, joining the NAACP and later the Black Panther Party. Hampton emerged as a prominent leader known for his powerful oratory and efforts to unite diverse communities through initiatives like the Rainbow Coalition, which aimed to bridge divides among different racial and socio-economic groups.
His activism, however, placed him under scrutiny by law enforcement, particularly the FBI, which viewed him as a significant threat due to his rising influence. On December 4, 1969, a controversial police raid on his apartment led to his death, alongside fellow activist Mark Clark. The circumstances surrounding the raid sparked significant outrage and allegations of collusion between law enforcement and the FBI, as evidence suggested that Hampton was drugged and killed while asleep.
Hampton's legacy endures through his contributions to community organizing and social justice, remembered for his impactful work, including establishing free breakfast programs for children. His death intensified tensions between the Black community and law enforcement, leaving a lasting mark on the fight for civil rights and economic justice.
Fred Hampton (activist)
Activist
- Born: August 30, 1948
- Birthplace: Summit, Illinois
- Died: December 4, 1969
- Place of death: Chicago, Illinois
Education: Triton Junior College (attended until 1966)
Significance: Fred Hampton was a leader of the Chicago branch of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s. Hampton was killed by police in 1969 at the age of twenty-one. His killing sparked controversy, as it seemed to have been a targeted, premeditated killing by law enforcement. Hampton had an important influence on his community and on the fight for civil rights in America.
Background
Fred Hampton was born on August 30, 1948, in Illinois. Hampton was a gifted student. He was also a talented athlete, and he wanted to play professional baseball for a time. However, he chose to study prelaw at Triton Junior College after graduating from high school. Hampton was interested in civil rights and improved living conditions for African Americans from a young age. He fought for his community to have a public swimming pool when he was a young adult. He then joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to become involved in supporting the black community and to make a difference. His interest in helping his community led to his joining the Black Panther Party, which had begun in Oakland, California, in 1966.
Life's Work
As a member of the Black Panther Party, Hampton came under scrutiny. The Black Panther Party believed that violence was sometimes justified when pursuing civil rights for African Americans. The Black Panthers and law enforcement officers had clashed eight times leading up to December 1969. Those clashes left three police officers and five Black Panthers dead. Because of that, the party and its members were extremely controversial.
Hampton was a gifted speaker, and he rose quickly through the ranks in the Black Panthers. He was also a charismatic leader, and had a talent for bringing together diverse groups. He built what he called a Rainbow Coalition of black, Latino, white, and poor individuals. He even helped ease tensions among some Chicago gangs, as he convinced people to work together.
Hampton was poised to become a leader in the Black Panther Party at a national level. He had impressed many people in his community with his organizing activities. Also, a number of Black Panther leaders had been removed from their posts because of arrests. Because of his stature, Hampton became a target of law enforcement. J. Edgar Hoover was the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the 1960s. Hoover did not support the civil rights movement, and he closely monitored many civil rights activists. The FBI convinced a man named William O'Neal to infiltrate the Black Panther Party. O'Neal fed information about the party to the FBI.
Early in the morning on December 4, 1969, Chicago police officers, under the direction of the Cook County state attorney's office, executed a raid on Hampton's apartment. Law enforcement officers raided Hampton's apartment, which also served as a command center for the local branch of the Black Panther Party, looking for weapons. Before the raid, O'Neal gave Hampton a sleeping drug. Then, law enforcement officers entered Hampton's apartment. After ten minutes, the police officers shot ninety-nine rounds of ammunition, but the Black Panthers had shot only two. After the raid, Hampton and another young, influential party member, Mark Clark, were dead. Four other Black Panther Party members were injured. Two police officers were injured.
The raid was extremely controversial, and the Black Panthers and the law enforcement officers had very different stories about what happened that morning. Law enforcement officers claimed they had been denied entry into the apartment. When they entered forcibly, they claimed a woman with a shotgun fired the first round, causing them to open fire. They also claimed that at least six Black Panthers were actively involved in the shooting.
The Black Panthers claimed that the officers had initiated shooting. They also claimed that Hampton and his pregnant girlfriend were injured during the raid. They claimed that when officers discovered Hampton was still living, they shot him twice in the head.
After Hampton's death, the raid's survivors and Hampton's family members sued the state of Chicago. The case uncovered details that clashed with official accounts of the incident. An independent autopsy claimed that Hampton had been shot in the head while lying down, supporting the idea that Hampton had been killed in his sleep. It also discovered that O'Neal had given Hampton a sleeping drug before the raid, and the FBI had asked O'Neal for a blueprint of and details about Hampton's apartment. The FBI passed this information on to local law enforcement. This was seen as evidence of collusion and premeditation to many people. Furthermore, investigators found that the "bullet holes" police officers used to support their story that the Black Panthers started shooting from the inside were actually nail holes in the door.
The lawsuit against law enforcement battled in the courts for many years. In 1983, it was finally settled with the survivors receiving more than $1 million in damages.
Impact
Hampton made an important impact on the black community in Chicago, and he was eulogized at his funeral by prominent members of the black community, including civil rights activists Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy, who became the leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference after Martin Luther King Jr.'s death. Hampton was remembered by the community for his ability to unite people of different backgrounds. He was also remembered for some of the life-changing work he did in his community, such as helping to found a free breakfast program for kids and brokering agreements between rival gangs. Hampton's belief in economic justice for people of all different races and backgrounds was remembered by many people who continued to organize the fight for equal rights. His death was also significant because it caused a further rift between the black community and law enforcement.
Personal Life
Hampton's girlfriend, Deborah Johnson, was injured during the raid. She was pregnant at the time. Fred Hampton Jr., the son of Johnson and Hampton, was born on December 29, 1969, twenty-five days after his father's death.
Bibliography
Cohen, Jeff, and Jeff Gottlieb. "Was Fred Hampton Executed?" Nation, 25 Dec. 1976, www.thenation.com/article/was-fred-hampton-executed/. Accessed 3 Sept. 2017.
"Fred Hampton." US National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/individuals/fred-hampton. Accessed 3 Sept. 2017.
Gregory, Ted. "The Black Panther Raid and the Death of Fred Hampton." Chicago Tribune, www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/chi-chicagodays-pantherraid-story-story.html. Accessed 3 Sept. 2017.
Grossman, Ron. "Fatal Black Panther Raid in Chicago Set Off Sizable Aftershocks." Chicago Tribune , 4 Dec. 2014, www.chicagotribune.com/news/history/ct-black-panther-raid-flashback-1207-20141206-story.html. Accessed 3 Sept. 2017.
Jabali, Malaika. "The Sacrifices of Slain Black Panther Party Leader Fred Hampton and His Family Are a Lesson in Black Love." Essence, 30 Dec. 2016, www.essence.com/culture/sacrifices-black-panther-party-leader-fred-hampton. Accessed 3 Sept. 2017.
"Police Kill Two Members of the Black Panther Party." History.com, 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/police-kill-two-members-of-the-black-panther-party. Accessed 3 Sept. 2017.
Schladebeck, Jessica. "A Look Back at the Controversial Events Surrounding the Shooting Death of Black Panther Leader Fred Hampton." New York Daily News, 4 Dec. 2016, www.nydailynews.com/news/national/controversial-shooting-death-black-panther-fred-hampton-article-1.2896404. Accessed 3 Sept. 2017.
Seymour, Desmond. "Fred Hampton: A Leading Light." NAACP, www.naacpconnect.org/blog/entry/fred-hampton-a-leading-light. Accessed 3 Sept. 2017.