Fred Hampton, Jr.

[XXPANTHAXX]

"You can kill a revolutionary, but you can't kill a revolution!"



The story of Fred Hampton, Jr. is one that began before he was even born. His life is forever overshadowed by the legacy of his father, Fred Hampton, Sr. . On December 4th, 1969, Fred Sr. slept beside his pregnant girlfriend, Akua Njeri. Allegedly drugged with secobarbitol before bedtime, Fred Hampton would never again see the light of day. He was murdered during the early morning hours in the now infamous Chicago Panther House Raid. While Fred Hampton, Jr. was still in his mother's womb, a huge part of his history was taken from him: his father.

In 1990, at the age of 20, Fred Jr. was already extremely active in the same political circles that proved to be deadly for his father. At this time he became the President of the local National People's Democratic Uhuru Movement(NPDUM), joining their fight for the rights of African people in the US.

In March 1992, the government made two separate attempts to indict Fred Hampton, Jr on charges of Murder and Armed Robbery. He was found not guilty of both, much to the dismay of the prosecuting attorney who remarked, "...Fred Hampton Jr., we'll get you yet." In May of that same year, Fred was brought in again. This time he was accused of firebombing a Korean Merchant's store. A corrupt and rushed trial ensues and many aspects of the courtroom procedure hint at the political sensitivity of the accusation. For example, the NPDUM's page says the jury was rigged to exclude those with positive recollections of the BPP and Fred Hampton, Sr., but included those who feared blacks and had been robbed. The judge refused to allow the name "Fred Hampton" to be used in court.
There was also a lack of evidence-
There is no evidence of a fire
No fire truck came to the scene
The store was not closed for more than 15 minutes
Fred Hampton was allowed no character witness
When Fred Jr.'s mother takes the stand to testify as to where Fred Jr. was at the time of the alleged incident, the main focus of questioning is her political affiliation with militant and radical groups like the BPP and the NPDUM


On May 19, 1993, Fred Hampton, Jr. is sentenced to eighteen years in prison on ONE count of aggravated arson.

Fred Hampton, Jr inherited his father's gift for politics as well as his ability to frighten the government with his effectiveness in organizing. The "Free Fred Hampton, Jr." site seems to be the only comprehensive internet source providing information about his run-ins with the legal system. The site was last updated in 1996 and after countless attempts to search for further updates on the status of the case, it was realized that there is limited access to information regarding these topics. We tried to email the Foundation to Free Fred Hampton, Jr. to gather information about his status in jail but received no response. The information is outdated but does a good job of presenting the facts that are relevant to the cause. No other sources with updates about the plight of Fred Hampton, Jr. were found. This seemed to be a common thread throughout our research, as there is a lack of information about the Black Panther Party and the Chicago Murders in particular. One reason could be that despite the longest civil trial in US history (as of 1996), there is a lot of conflicting information and some sources may not be 100% accurate or may be biased. Another reason is that the government has tried to suppress information about its Post-Civil Rights Era activities. For this reason, much of the information that is needed about these subjects simply disappeared. The NPDUM is considered a radical group, but by speaking out about issues concerning them, the NPDUM merely exercises Constitutional rights. It has been suggested by the media and several government officials that race riots in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1996, were prompted by the NPDUM. Enraged feelings were already present in the mentality of the people of St. Petersburg. Both Blacks and Whites alike recognized the racial inequalities of the local judicial system. It is unfortunate that this tension escalated into a full fledged riot, it is also unfortunate that the powers that be in St. Petersburg had to pin the blame on one organization in particular.