Biography of Fred Hampton, Black Panther Party Leader

Fred Hampton (August 30, 1948–December 4, 1969) was an activist for the NAACP and the Black Panther Party. At age 21, Hampton was fatally shot alongside a fellow activist during a law enforcement raid. Activists and the broader black community considered the deaths of these men unjust, and their families ultimately received a settlement stemming from a civil lawsuit. Today, Hampton is widely remembered as a martyr for the cause of black liberation. Fast Facts: Fred Hampton Known For: Black Panther Party activist who was in a law enforcement raidBorn: August 30, 1948 in Summit, Illinois.Parents: Francis Allen Hampton and Iberia HamptonDied: December 4, 1969 in Chicago, IllinoisEducation: YMCA Community College, Triton CollegeChildren: Fred Hampton Jr.Notable Quote: â€Å"We always say in the Black Panther Party they can do anything they want to to us. We might not be back. I might be in jail. I might be anywhere.  But when I leave, you’ll remember I said, with the last words on my lips, that I am a revolutionary. Early Years 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 for the New York Yankees. 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 councils membership to more than 500 members. Activism in the Black Panther Party Hampton had success with the NAACP, but the radicalism of the Black Panther Party resonated with him even more. The BPP had successfully launched a free breakfast program to feed children in a number of cities. The group also advocated for self-defense rather than nonviolence and took a global perspective on the black freedom struggle, finding inspiration in Maoism. A skilled speaker and organizer, Hampton quickly moved through the ranks of the BPP. He became the leader of Chicago’s BPP branch, then the chairmain of the Illinois BPP, and finally the deputy chair of the national BPP. He engaged in grassroots activism, working as an organizer, a peacemaker, and taking part in the BPP’s free breakfast program and people’s medical clinic. A COINTELPRO Target From the 1950s until the 1970s, the FBI’s Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO) targeted leaders of activist organizations like Fred Hampton. The program served to undermine, infiltrate, and spread misinformation (often through extrajudicial means) about political groups and the activists who belonged to them. COINTELPRO targeted civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as well as radical groups like the Black Panther Party, the American Indian Movement, and the Young Lords. As Hampton’s influence in the Black Panthers grew, the FBI began to focus on his activities, opening a file on him in 1967. The FBI enlisted a man named William ONeal to infiltrate and sabotage the Black Panthers Party. ONeal, who had been previously arrested for car theft and impersonating a federal officer, agreed to the task because the federal agency promised to drop the felony charges against him. O’Neal quickly gained access to Hampton by becoming both his bodyguard and a security director in Hampton’s Black Panther Party chapter. As a Black Panther Party leader, Hampton persuaded Chicago’s black and Puerto Rican street gangs to call a truce. He also worked with white-dominated groups like Students for a Democratic Society and the Weather Underground. He called the multiracial groups he collaborated with his Rainbow Coalition. Following FBI director J. Edgar Hoover’s orders, O’Neal undid much of Hampton’s work to foster peace in the community, leading community members to lose confidence in the BPP. Fred Hamptons Killing Sowing discord in the community wasn’t the only way O’Neal attempt to undermine Hampton. He also played a direct role in his killing. On December 3, 1969, O’Neal secretly drugged Hampton by putting a sleeping pill into his drink. Shortly afterward, law enforcement agents initiated an early morning raid on Hampton’s apartment. Despite not having a warrant for weapons charges, they entered the apartment with guns firing. They mortally wounded Mark Clark, who was guarding Hampton. Hampton and his fiancee, Deborah Johnson (also called Akua Njeri), were asleep in their bedroom. They had been wounded but survived the gunfire. When an officer realized that Hampton hadn’t been killed, he proceeded to shoot the activist twice in the head. Johnson, who was expecting a child with Hampton, was not killed. The other seven Black Panthers present in the apartment were charged with several serious crimes, including attempted murder, armed violence, and multiple weapons charges. However, when a Department of Justice investigation revealed that Chicago Police had fired up to 99 shots, and the Panthers had only fired once, the charges were dropped. Activists considered the killing of Hampton to be an assassination. When the FBI’s Pennsylvania field office was broken into not long after, the COINTELPRO files found included a floor plan of Hampton’s apartment and documents that mentioned covering up the FBI’s part in Hampton’s killing. Lawsuit and Settlement The family members of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark sued the Chicago Police, Cook County, and the FBI for $47.7 million in 1970 for wrongfully killing the men. That case was thrown out, but a new case took place in 1979 after officials concluded that the law enforcement agencies involved had obstructed justice and refused to hand over relevant paperwork related to the killings. Three years later, the families of Hampton and Clark learned that they would receive a $1.85 million settlement from the local and federal agencies responsible for the men’s deaths. Although that sum was far less than what they’d sought, the settlement was an acknowledgement, to a degree, of wrongdoing. Had the Chicago Police not killed Fred Hampton, he would have been named chief of staff of the Black Panther Partys central committee, making him a key spokesman for the group. Hampton never got that opportunity, but he has not been forgotten. Soon after his death, the BPP filmed an investigation of his apartment, which police did not close off. The footage captured is seen in the 1971 documentary â€Å"The Murder of Fred Hampton.† An estimated 5,000 mourners turned up to Hampton’s funeral, during which the activist was remembered by civil rights leaders such the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy.  Although activists Roy Wilkins and Ramsey Clark characterized Hampton’s killing as unjustified, none of the officers or officials involved in the raid were convicted of wrongdoing. Legacy A number of writers, rappers, and musicians have referred to Fred Hampton in their writings or lyrics. The group Rage Against the Machine famously mentions the activist in its 1996 hit â€Å"Down Rodeo,† in which frontman Zack de la Rocha declares, â€Å"They ain’t gonna send us campin’ like they did my man Fred Hampton.† In the city of Chicago, December 4 is â€Å"Fred Hampton Day.† A public pool in Maywood, Illinois, where Hampton grew up, bears his name. A bust of Hampton sits outside the Fred Hampton Family Aquatic Center. Hampton, like other political activists, seemed keenly aware that his work would put his life in jeopardy. However, while he was alive, he expressed confidence in his own legacy: â€Å"We always say in the Black Panther Party that they can do anything they want to us. We might not be back. I might be in jail. I might be anywhere. But when I leave, you’ll remember I said, with the last words on my lips, that I am a revolutionary. And you’re going to have to keep on saying that. You’re going to have to say that I am a proletariat, I am the people.† Sources Ballesteros, Carlos. â€Å"Black Panther icon Fred Hampton’s boyhood home facing foreclosure.† Chicago Sun-Times, 16 October, 2018.â€Å"Fred Hampton.† National Archives, 15 December, 2016. Silva, Christianna. â€Å"Who Was Fred Hampton, the Black Panther Shot and Killed by Chicago Police 48 Years Ago?† Newsweek, 4 December, 2017.â€Å"Watch: The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther.† Democracy Now! 4 December, 2014.

The Human Condition and Ideologies in Hamlet by Willliam...

Hamlet Texts reflect their context and paradigms but transcendental texts that explore aspects of humanity can resonate through time and remain relevant and accessible to audiences. William Shakespeare’s introspective play, Hamlet, explores the complexity of the human condition by reflecting ideologies such as justice, loyalty and morality. Although these deeply human ideas ensure the plays resonance, they are somewhat secondary to the depths of Hamlet’s human struggle. These thematic concerns reflect how flaws in the values of society descend into corruption. Through an exploration of the characterization, Shakespeare invites a re-evaluation of the values that shape human nature. The textual integrity of Hamlet makes it of distinctive†¦show more content†¦Hamlet sees something that is rotten in his kingdom and he knows it is his moral responsibility to resolve this issues however he finishes off by saying that in actual fact he is powerless â€Å"but break my heart, for I must hold my tongue† admitting his weakness. Hamlet begins to grapple with the nature of humanity and morality following the confrontation with the ghost. The appearance of the ghost triggers Hamlet’s existential struggle â€Å"All is not well†¦ I doubt some foul play†¦ foul deeds will rise† (Act 1 scene 2) through the use of foreshadowing, Shakespeare exposes the nature of humanity to audiences through the construction of Hamlet’s character. He emphasises that a strong sense of morality can cause conflicts in the decision to make noble choices. The relevance and significance of the revenge tragedy is in the way it explores human nature and forces audiences to evaluate ideologies such as revenge and justice. The concept of revenge is accompanied by moral conflict and Shakespeare demonstrates that by acting immorally society is likely to be riddled with corruption. Hamlet seeks to avenge the death of his father but struggles with the ramifications of seeking righteous revenge through an immoral act. The imposition of revenge instills the existential questioning on Hamlet as it contradicts his with his social expectation. His

Gray Clouds Blanketed the World... free essay sample

Gray clouds blanketed the world around the William Chitty Red Cross chapter in Santa Ana. Outside, brown leaves rustled off the trees and fell onto the damp grass as a thunderstruck squirrel paused in trepidation at the pounding of a sky ripping at the creases. Small drops of water flew horizontally in the gusts of wind that increased when a golden bus sped into the parking lot. One week ago, a much drier bus, whose paint threatened to chip, had departed from this parking lot with a crowd of high school children. We flew off to a far away camp to transform our huddled bodies into leaderific personalities. To encourage individual to live out loud. On Tuesday, a sun parched camp lay before each cabin. Each team burst out and, with the events intermingled, Tuesday’s rock wall and Thursday’s introspective view on racism fell into archetypal patterns in my brain. We will write a custom essay sample on Gray Clouds Blanketed the World or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Each theme the camp introduced fell into different paths, uninhibited by chronology. On Friday night, we sat in a blacked out lodge hall in a circle with eyes closed shouting with whispers the thoughts swimming through our mind. â€Å"I see a chain-link fence,† said Joy, â€Å"that I cannot cross and a boy zooms on past. I can cry out in retrospect, but he doesn’t see the black corvette that I imagine bumbling down Culver† Joy’s sister replied â€Å"Then the error is increased/ mass and moment are released/matter loosens, flooding blind/ level drivers to its kind.† Rain fell through folds of eyes; I was the desert, but in the distance, rumblings of smoke tore through the sky. That night we slinked back to our cabins. I stared down at the flashlight light path. Red eyes and puffy cheeks were the battle scars of these memories. The clouds began to smudge out the stars. When inside, we packed our suitcases and slept on empty beds, silent, playing out the week that had passed. The turbulent hissing of freezing wind against smacking wooden shingles played rhythm to fractal words that rationalized images that projected to my eyes. I thought, Leaderifics: Living Out Loud is not being the bolt of electricity that rips and illuminates across the sky. At the camp, I found more power in the well chosen words instead of a flurry of phrases. Leadership is being the soil that absorbs the water, the light, and creating anew les batiments of old creations. The next day, sitting on a brown leather school bus seat at the back of the bus next to a window, I gazed out, letting rain flood the desert. Before I went to this camp, I found the assistance organization to be a chore, a labored vacillation for me to help the community. After, I found comfort in being there, amongst a family. There weren’t fake words and paper machete people, and even outside, I saw the merit by not second-guessing what someone wanted. I am now proud to say my opinions, but I am not too proud to sit down and listen.

I Am Not Perfect free essay sample

I Am Not Perfect by Amanda A.,Milford, CT As I walked onto the soccer field I had a knot in my stomach and lump in my throat. Soccer tryouts were in exactly 30 minutes. I was too shy to try out freshman year, but decided to go for it as a sophomore. Many of my friends played freshman year and they all had had so much fun. When the coaches walked onto the field I felt as if I was going to pass out. With no athletic ability I began to wonder why I was even there. Everyone immediately grabbed a ball and began warming-up. I stood there not having a clue what to do. My friends came over to show me a few quick moves and drills. I had fun and really enjoyed playing. Every girl on the team, including my friends, were far more skilled than I. The second I admitted that to myself I was fine; I felt as if I had been on the team all along. We will write a custom essay sample on I Am Not Perfect or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This experience has stuck with me all through high school. Without realizing it, I learned a valuable lesson about myself. Before trying out for the soccer team, I had always wanted to be perfect at everything. I would do anything to accomplish the high standards I set for myself. During freshman year I was so stressed out over school work that I never had fun. I decided it was time for a change. As with most high school students, my life began to change as I got older. There were more responsibilities, work and worries. When I got my first job, my time became limited. Balancing school, a job and sports has not been easy. Junior year, all the college worries began. I dreaded SATs, along with every other high school junior. Now, I sit and wait to see which colleges will accept me. Through it all I have become a better, more mature person. No longer do I feel that I have to be perfect. Life is not fair at times and I have come to accept that there may always be someone who is smarter, more successful or more talented than I. I know in my heart that I have tried to live my life with good values and morals. Although my SAT scores may not be great and my athletic ability not worthy of scholarships, I have other qualities that make me important. If people are not willing to accept me for who I am, then I do not need to be accepted by them. Knowing that I put a hundred percent effort into everything I do and am honest with myself, I am completely satisfied with the person I am.