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"Fred Hampton Reborn "

rec 3-11-05 Essay

4:55 Radio Essay Mp3 features interview with Fred Hampton Jr.

FRED HAMPTON - REBORN!
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[Col. Writ. 3/11/05] Copyright 2005 Mumia Abu-Jamal

   It was Dec. 4, 1969, an early morn, when most people turn over in their sleep, when a creeping death squad of Chicago cops raided an apartment on Monroe St., in a premeditated plan to murder Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton, 21-year old leader of the Illinois Black Panther Party, and a master organizer.

   Sleeping beside him was his young wife, Deborah, and sleeping within her, under her heart, was a Black baby boy, who was swimming in a salty sea, inches away from the father that his eyes would never see, alive.

   For Chicago cops, aided and abetted by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, and a traitorous Black snitch, were determined that Fred Hampton would not live another day.  The cops (Black cops among them!) shot over 100 bullets into the apartment, killing Fred, and Capt. Mark Clark, a young Panther visiting Chicago from Peoria, Illinois.  Typically, the cops lied for
weeks about the raid, until independent investigations proved it wasn't a shoot-out, but a shoot-in, with cops firing 100 shots, and a  Panther, Capt. Clark, firing one, as they came through the door.  Panthers were shot in their beds.  Fred was dosed with secobarbitol, a barbituate, laced into his soda by Panther traitor, William O'Neal.  He slept through his own
assassination by government agents!

   Some 3 weeks later, Fred's wife would give birth to their son, who would come to be known as Fred Hampton, Jr., a young man who, like his martyred father, has a deep and abiding love for his people, and is an energetic organizer and gifted speaker. I asked was he put down with his Dad's Panther and political history at an early age, or was he 'protected' by not being told things until he was older[?]:

      Well, basically upbringing, upbringing  and organization.  In other words, my Mama
and the Movement played key roles in my  upbringing.  To be informed and impacted
not only by the Chairman, Fred, but as  well the organization he was a part of,  the Black Panther Party.  Powerful impact  that they had not only on African people  but humanity in general.  And ironically this may even sound, the state played its role also, you know me being informed on the positive contributions.  I am talking about everything from coming   through colonial schools -- with the fight that they had for us not to know, of the contributions of that those freedom fighters had made.  As well, just the continuing counter insurgency, the continuing attacks from blatant examples. Gangster [Richard] Daley being the mayor of Chicago during the assassination of Chairman Fred.  Gangster [Richard] Daley, Jr., his tenure, the legal lynching of myself. The attacks also help create sort of a classroom.

Of today's Black political and community leaders, Fred Hampton, Jr. said:

      .. [W]e like to say that there are no foregone conclusions,  you have to make the distinctions ... from those that the state sanctions "leaders", as opposed to those that,  you know what I'm sayin', that come from the masses.  They come from the valley, you know what I'm sayin', they put into practice the slogan that we like to say, that we work for the   people, ah the streets are our office, concrete, that is our desk, and secretary consists of street soldiers. I got a tremendous amount of love and respect for our's here, those on a day-to-day basis, those not as  Malcolm would refer to as "responsible leaders."  You know  what I'm sayin', the ones the state don't want you to know about.  The ones that are sincere about fighting for freedom and independence of our people and I know also that--  we have to do, we have to create  such a groundswell.

     He is the spitting image of his father, but most important, the fighting spirit of Fred Hampton seems reborn in him.

   Like Fred, Jr., others have been born in the midst of state Terrorism in Black America.
Most know of the legendary early hours of Tupac Shakur, born to former Black Panther,
Afeni Shakur.  Perhaps fewer know of Mike Africa, Jr., the bright son of Mike and Debbie
Africa, political prisoners of the August 8th, 1978 police assault on MOVE headquarters.
Mike, literally, was born in jail.  Indeed, because MOVE women knew that the State
would separate mother and child, they hid the birth for several weeks, going down to
the mess hall to get extra food for their sister, Debbie, so that her delivery wouldn't be
noticed.

   Mike is today a revolutionary, like his mother and father; just as Fred is the son of
two revolutionaries.  Two sons; two movements; both revolutionaries of the Longest War: for Freedom in the American Empire.

Copyright 2005 Mumia Abu-Jamal
 
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