“Fred Hampton”

Fred Hampton, born and raised in Chicago, demonstrated leadership and organizational skills early in life. During high school, he joined the Junior NAACP, mobilizing five hundred young people to advocate for improved academic services and recreational facilities for Black children, successfully influencing city officials.

In 1968, Hampton left the NAACP and became one of the original members of the Black Panther Party in Illinois. Rising swiftly to a leadership position, he became the deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter. Hampton organized rallies, initiated a Free Breakfast program, and founded the “Rainbow Coalition,” building alliances across racial and ethnic lines with other community-based movements, including the Young Lords Organization and the Young Patriots.

The FBI and Chicago Police subjected Hampton’s chapter to intense surveillance and harassment campaigns, viewing the Black Panthers as a significant threat to national security, according to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.

On December 4, 1969, during an early morning police raid, a 14-man team of Chicago police opened fire on 2337 West Monroe Street, assassinating 21-year-old Chairman Fred Hampton and Defense Captain Mark Clark. Investigations later revealed that the assassinations were planned and executed with the involvement of the Chicago police.

The FBI’s role in the incident was further exposed, as federal informant William O’Neal, who had infiltrated the Panthers as a counterintelligence operative, provided a floor plan of Fred Hampton’s apartment. O’Neal, offered a deal in 1968, agreed to infiltrate the Panthers in exchange for dropped felony charges and a monthly stipend. He served as one of the heads of the Black Panther leader’s security, having access to keys for several Panther headquarters and safe houses.

HELLA INSPIRED.