Fred Hampton - Reborn!

[nattyreb]

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

[Check out Mumia's latest: *WE WANT FREEDOM:
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#1-800-533-8478.]
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