Hampton, Fred (1948–1969)

Born in 1948, Fred Hampton epitomized a total dedication to the liberation of African American people. He was a youth organizer at age 14, a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People youth director at 16, and the leading member of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party by 19 years of age. Deputy chairman of the party, Fred Hampton embodied the revolutionary voice and spirit of disenfranchised people. His fiery, determination and genuine love of the people earmarked Hampton as a born leader and thus a target of the government.

While made infamous by his brutal murder at the hands of the Illinois attorney general and the FBI, Hampton, in life, was an extraordinary leader who galvanized and mobilized communities in Chicago and nationally. During the rebellious days of the late 1960s, Chicago was a hot spot of African American and progressive political activism. Fred Hampton emerged from the suburban town of Maywood, Illinois, to lead the local and regional Black Panther Party.

He was instrumental in the development of a network of survival programs, such as the Free Breakfast Program and health clinics that serviced African American communities throughout the city. Hampton was particularly successful in using these programs as a means of educating people to his liberation politics. He had an uncanny ability to relay his message of socialism and black self-determination in a manner that appealed to urbanized youth as well as older church going members of the black community.

Hampton's speeches show his impeccable love and understanding of ordinary working people. Combining the spiritual culture of the church like Martin Luther King, Jr., and the urban militancy of Malcolm X, Hampton successfully built one of the most dynamic coalitions of progressive organizations and youth groups. From his influence on the Students for a Democratic Society to the transformation of the Young Lords Organization, Fred Hampton was a leading force in the social justice movements of the late 1960s. One of his greatest accomplishments was the development of the original Rainbow Coalition. This coalition unified youth groups from the ethnic communities of Chicago. Joining forces with these communities, Hampton was able to generate support for Black Panther programs while stimulating political action.

His practice of dealing with political issues while addressing the survival needs of the African American communities led Hampton to broker a nonaggression pact between some of the most notorious gangs in Chicago. Hampton's organizational skills and analytical ability made him a prime target of the FBI's plan to disrupt or otherwise neutralize activities of black organizations and leadership and to prevent the rise of a messiah who could unify and electrify the movement.

Hampton's powerful and charismatic devotion to revolution led to the assassination of this rising leader on December 4, 1969. Hampton, like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., before him, predicted his own assassination. He stated that he would not die a natural death, but rather that his death would come as he fought for liberation and revolution, and that he would die high on the people.

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