Fred Hampton, deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, was born on August 30, 1948 and raised in the Chicago suburb of Maywood, Illinois. In high school he excelled in academics and athletics. After Hampton graduated from high school, he enrolled in a pre-law program at Triton Junior College in River Grove, Illinois. Hampton also became involved in the civil rights movement, joining his local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). His dynamic leadership and organizational skills in the branch enabled him to rise to the position of Youth Council President. Hampton mobilized a racially integrated group of five hundred young people who successfully lobbied city officials to create better academic services and recreational facilities for African American children.

In 1968, Hampton joined the Black Panther Party (BPP), headquartered in Oakland, California. Using his NAACP experience, he soon headed the Chicago chapter. During his brief BPP tenure, Hampton formed a “Rainbow Coalition” which included Students for a Democratic Society, the Blackstone Rangers, a street gang and the National Young Lords, a Puerto Rican organization. Hampton was also successful in negotiating a gang truce on local television.

In an effort to neutralize the Chicago BPP, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Chicago Police Department placed the chapter under heavy surveillance and conducted several harassment campaigns. In 1969, several BPP members and police officers were either injured or killed in shootouts, and over one hundred local members of the BPP were arrested.

During an early morning police raid of the BPP headquarters at 2337 W. Monroe Street on December 4, 1969, twelve officers opened fire, killing the 21-year-old Hampton and Peoria, Illinois Panther leader Mark Clark. Police also seriously wounded four other Panther members. Many in the Chicago African American community were outraged over the raid and what they saw as the unnecessary deaths of Hampton and Clark. Over 5,000 people attended Hampton’s funeral where Reverends Ralph Abernathy and Jesse Jackson of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference eulogized the slain activist. Years later, law enforcement officials admitted wrongdoing in the killing of Hampton and Clark. In 1990, and later in 2004, the Chicago City Council passed resolutions commemorating December 4 as Fred Hampton Day.

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  • doublepepperoni [none/use name]
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    10 months ago

    The recent TrueAnon episode about Kanye West contained several incredible Brace quotes

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  • Riffraffintheroom [none/use name]
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    1210 months ago

    I work in a creative job and this is the week my bosses finally started pushing AI hard, and specifically in the area that I specialize in. Honestly it kind of looks like shit, but if they can crank out lots of mediocre crap in less time with less overhead I’m not sure they or even the client will care. Trying hard to keep my chin up and not fall into a blackpilled despair spiral, but it’s hard not to take this personally. Like I can’t believe this is the world we choose to live in.

  • Frogmanfromlake [none/use name]
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    1110 months ago

    It’s been a week. Some Salvadoran guys stole my old car that I had turned in last week and killed an expat with it before running away.

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  • Chronicon [they/them]
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    10 months ago

    Why do transit youtubers attract racists and shitlords?

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  • SexUnderSocialism [she/her]
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    1010 months ago

    Whenever that Pink song “Trustfall” is playing on the radio, my ears always hear “it’s a trust fund baby” instead of “it’s a trustfall, baby”. glasses-off

  • GalaxyBrain [they/them]
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    910 months ago

    One time a band I was in played a metal show and we learned the beginning g of master of puppets right until the first break in the intro where the guitar and drum trade off before the drums and second opening riff kick in and we just stayed on that part for like 15 minutes and then left.

  • VHS [he/him]
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    310 months ago

    not news to anyone but Beyoncé’s album Renaissance is still goated