Imagine what all these great young revolutionaries could have accomplished by today if they never would had been put down by the FBI the local police and everybody else who opposed them, i know that we the young people are the makers of our future and what we do is not only going to shape our future but others in both our generation and future ones. Our legacy will be based on our actions and efforts, so just like those young fervent man and woman of the 60s and 70s that decided to stand up and do something about the situation and fight back for their rights and freedom unlike previous generations who would obey and fear the so called “white man” they rebelled against them the oppressors and fought back with that strong rebellion attitude that we young people always posses and they changed their world and our world and that is their legacy. Now everything is different our oppressor is new so our goals are different and its been a while since someone produced a change and its up to us the young to mark our legacy and shape up this country and the world for ourselves and future generations its time to be revolutionaries for the better of humanity. Unity, equality and freedom for all.
He was an activist who inspired millions to fight for their rights. He knew what was wrong with our country and risked his life to help his people achieve equality. In the society where black were treated like animal he did everything possible to change this. His brave soul, his will and courage changed the history of America , changed the people. He made us believe we can win this war. He payed for it with his life. He will always be remembered.
Respecting his memory also means acknowledging that his fight is far from over, black people are facing the same issues that ha birth to the Black Panthers, and that the FBI is basically trying to launch COINTELPRO 2.0 against BLM and other black activists. Hampton should be more than a history lesson, he should be a rallying point.
Welcome to our first International edition of This Man Legislates! Today’s story comes from our great neighbor to the north, Canada.
Toronto City Councillor Jim Karygiannis apparently isn’t a Beyoncé fan. In an interview with a Toronto paper he all but called for Canada to ban her from entering their country!
“Perhaps Immigration Minister John McCallum should have [Beyoncé] investigated first?…If someone wore bullets and supported (a radical group) here, they would not be welcomed in the United States—that’s for sure.”
Karygiannis was speaking about Beyoncé’s Super Bowl halftime performance.
When asked to comment Beyoncé responded with this GIF.
Daniel Kaluuya gives an outstanding performance as Illinois Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton in the film Judas and the Black Messiah, but can the film do justice to Hampton’s radical politics?
going through the started, but never finished text. so happy that i picked this up & believe its testimony to everything at the right time. really didn’t know much if anything at all about the chairman. not only does this text include a brief biography, but also the works of mao & his wife. really an eye opener into the driving force behind his mission. also got a change to brush up on world history as well as marxism, communism, socialism, etc. while reading this text i was so captivated that i watched documentaries, scholarly interviews, & did a bit more research. this book is so short and easy to read that i highly suggest it. although it does its best to set the stage, i could see if someone did not posses the basics of world politics or marxism it could be a bit much, but you wouldn’t be completely lost.
another don’t know how it got in the library, but am happy to give it a home. i would suggest borrowing this book, if so moved, yes purchase. however, there may be & probably are better text out there on mao Tse-tung, which i would suggest reading. he is an interesting man.
The Black Panther Community News Service (Vol. 3, No. 28, November 1969) Written by John Weber
This post was written by Brianna Mims, a recipient of an Archival Scholar Research Award for the 2020 Spring Semester.
Since the beginning of the 2020 spring semester I’ve been carefully making my way through archived volumes of the Black Panther Newspaper. There’s not many words to describe the experience. As a black woman this research is illuminating. My hometown school district did a pretty poor job of teaching black history and culture, so this research feels much needed and long awaited.
As I mentioned, there’s not a lot of words to describe this experience so I chose to talk about something I know a little more about. As a Studio Arts and Psychology double major, art is a huge part of my life and psyche. In this volume of the publication John Weber reports on a summer youth program at St. Dominic’s church in Chicago.
This article stuck out to me because it was the first place I had seen this connection between art and the political message of the Panthers (Outside of Emory Douglass’ illustrations and cover art). More specifically about the medium of the art Weber states:
Before painting we had to reface the old wall with new sand cement for a smoother surface and put fresh boards on the windows.We used vinyl acrylic latex paint w/ a weather proofing additive. Nevertheless, the mural is unlikely to last as long as five years in the highly acidic polluted air of Chicago, not to mention wear and tear.
This quote specifically illustrated the conditions for this artistic creation in its mention of boarded windows and the polluted air that was expected to destroy the mural. Nonetheless, the effort was important in uniting the community youth and giving them something to be proud of.:
“several [kids] showed genuine talent for design and a flair for color composition. They are rarely given a chance to develop these talents in the public schools… Public art is rare in today’s America and political art is even rarer. Collective are also runs against the grain in our ‘everyman for himself society’ ”
The article confronts me with the privilege I posses in having access to artistic resources here at the university. I feel very fortunate that I can translate my experiences into an artistic medium. I also feel a greater responsibility to use my work to advance black people/culture in society. Like the quote mentions, collective artwork goes against our individualistic culture. I see the inclusion of the Black Panther publications in my artistic process as a form of collaboration.
Today, on what would have been her 104th birthday, Rosa Parks’ contribution to the Civil Rights Movement is honored—in two states: California and Missouri (Ohio and Oregon observe Rosa Parks Day on December 1, the anniversary of her arrest). Only four out of fifty states have proclaimed a day to honor the woman often dubbed “the first lady of civil rights.” Aside from being a missed opportunity…
Blackout for Human Rights is proud to announce that we’re standing with revolutionary Civil Rights Leader and Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton, Fred Hampton Jr. and their family in the fight to purchase, restore and maintain the childhood home of Fred Hampton. Hampton Jr. and Save The Hampton House, Inc. are currently hosting a special GoFundMe to raise the funds needed in order to save their home. Please join us to support the revolutionary Fred Hampton and his family by donating and sharing the GoFundMe page today: http://bit.ly/2ZiCswQ. Together, we have the power to make a difference and support them. The people united will never be defeated.
“Descendants of iconic African American Chicago figures, like Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Fred Hampton, often struggle to manage the stories of their famous relatives” http://bit.ly/2Zh8RE6 via Chicago Tribune
“Fred Hampton was considered a uniter by those who knew him. He had managed to broker peace between warring gangs in Chicago and was known for uniting poor black, white and Puerto Rican people.” http://bit.ly/2z78WeP via The Root
The Sacrifices Of Slain Black Panther Party Leader Fred Hampton And His Family Are A Lesson In Black Love: http://bit.ly/2Z2EEJy via Essence
“The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther” http://bit.ly/2He07o8 via Democracy Now!
Black Panther Fred Hampton Created a “Rainbow Coalition” to Support Poor Americans: http://bit.ly/2KGpYXO via Teen Vogue
“Never forget that the FBI and Chicago Police Department conspired to murder Fred Hampton in his apartment because they were afraid he was creating a multiracial political coalition to challenge those in power. He was just 21 years old.” Clint Smith: http://bit.ly/2Z2kOOM via Newsweek
“Fred Hampton was born on August 30, 1948 in Summit, Illinois. His parents, Francis Allen Hampton and Iberia Hampton, were Louisiana natives who relocated to Chicago. As a youth, Fred excelled in sports and dreamed of playing baseball. However, he also excelled in the classroom. Hampton ultimately attended Triton College, where he studied pre-law in hopes of helping people of color fight back against police brutality. As a teen, Hampton became involved in civil rights by leading a local NAACP youth council. He helped to grow the council’s membership to more than 500 members.” http://bit.ly/2OYP1th via Thought Co.
“Despite the evidence provided by ballistics experts showing that police had fired 99 percent of the bullets and had falsified the report on the incident, the first federal grand jury did not indict anyone involved in the raid. Furthermore, even though a subsequent grand jury did indict all the police officers involved, the charges were dismissed.” http://bit.ly/2P4MlL0 via History
“The FBI convinced a criminal, William O'Neal, to infiltrate the Party and get close to Hampton. O'Neal succeeded in joining the Party, acting as Fred Hampton’s bodyguard and Director of Chapter Security. At the instruction of J. Edgar Hoover, he worked to undermine the coalitions that Hampton had created amongst the neighborhood gangs and organizations - causing a major rift and creating a distrust of the Black Panthers. On the evening of December 3, 1969, O’Neal slipped a powerful sleeping drug into Hampton’s drink then left. Officers were dispatched to raid his apartment. They stormed in and opened fire, killing Mark Clark, acting as his security guard. Then they opened fire on Hampton’s bedroom where he laid unconscious from the drug. Despite the intense round of fire, Hampton and his pregnant fiancee were only wounded. Upon that discovery, an officer shot him twice in his head and killed him. The remaining seven Panthers that were present in the apartment were all arrested and indicted by a grand jury on charges of attempted murder, armed violence, and a variety of weapons charges. These charges were eventually dropped after a Department of Justice investigation discovered that Chicago Police fired ninety-nine shots while the Panthers only shot twice.” http://bit.ly/2wzWuCD via U.S. National Archives
‘Nothing but a Northern Lynching’: The Assassination of Fred Hampton: http://bit.ly/31Q5Ecu via The Huffington Post
Blackout for Human Rights is a collective of artists, activists, filmmakers, organizers, musicians, religious leaders and concerned citizens who commit their energy and resources to immediately address the staggering level of human rights violations and injustices against our fellow brothers and sisters throughout the United States. Blackout has hosted national protest actions, donation drives, and special events including #BlackoutBlackFriday, MLK Now, Blackout Festival, #JusticeForFlint and more. Founded in 2014 by a group of activists and artists, Blackout is comprised of both high visibility and everyday citizens including Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, Michael B. Jordan, Charles King, Jesse Williams, John Burris, Pastor Michael McBride, Scott Budnick, David Oyelowo, Will Packer, Marlon Wayans and more.
For more information, please follow Blackout for Human Rights on Instagram,TwitterandFacebook. For press and general questions, please email us at [email protected].
With school around the corner, this is a reminder to not allow the history textbooks have you go & discredit revolutionary heroes that fought & died for your rights. It’s important to educate yourself & others about COINTELPRO, an FBI government-sponsored series of covert, and often illegal, projects aimed at spying on, infiltrating, discrediting, disrupting & destroying leftist political organizations & leaders they deemed “subversive” including the Black Panther Party, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Civil Rights organizations, the Brown Berets, the Young Lords, the American Indian Movement, women’s liberation groups, LGBT activists, & anti-Vietnam war organizers.
“COINTELPRO used informants, agent provocateurs, infiltrators, legal and illegal wiretaps, break-ins, false correspondence, and “bad-jacketing,” which was the act of making a legitimate member of a group appear to be a collaborator with the state. Psychological warfare included calling the parents of young civil rights activists to inform them that their children had been murdered or kidnapped. FBI agents worked with journalists to plant stories in order to discredit leadership and organizations. Across the country, the Bureau collaborated with local police to repress targeted groups. Sharing resources & intelligence, activists were arrested, fired from jobs, expelled from schools and lost business contracts. COINTELPRO even used switchboard operators and postal workers to spy on citizens, with or without court order… The effectiveness of COINTELPRO was overwhelming. Many organizations were destabilized with arrests, raids, break-ins, & killings. The most famous raid of the Panthers occurred in December 1969 in Chicago when a 14-man police raiding party killed two Panthers, Fred Hampton & Mark Clark. Several other Panthers were injured in the pre-dawn attack. Nationally, the Panthers insisted that the FBI and local police were involved in a conspiracy to destroy them. Hoover denied it. The magnitude of these coordinated activities, however, were not known until the 1976 congressional hearings.” -Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar
