By Fred Hampton, Jr.
Father’s Day is a designated moment to lift up the men in our lives and in our communities who helped raise us. It, too, serves as a stark reminder of the surrounding impact of the systematic murders and imprisonment of the George Floyds, Andrew Browns and countless others within the Black and other colonized communities. Every Father’s Day, I reflect on what my own father, Chairman Fred Hampton, leader of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, means to me, the community of Chicago, the international community and the ongoing movement for the liberation and freedom for Black people, with an annual trek from The Hampton House, his childhood home in Maywood, to the site where he was assassinated in the west side of Chicago on December 4, 1969.
Chairman Fred Hampton was not only my role/real model, but the role/real model of so many people in the community of Chicago and the international community. While it has now been over 50 years since my father and Defense Captain Mark Clark’s assassinations, we still face the same problems. At a time in which the system is exacerbating its historical tactics of exploiting and making antagonistic race, gender and other dynamics within the respective communities, our communities continue to be saturated with state-sanctioned slayings and snatchings, leaving many children to subsist without their fathers and mothers. From the murders of Laquan McDonald, Rekia Boyd, and Adam Toledo in Chicago to the recently released scenes and screams of Ronald Greene in Louisiana — with every perceived step toward justice, there is still an incredible amount of work to be done in our own neighborhoods, cities, and country overall.
The work of education and liberation are far from over: if we do not learn our history, we let others control the narrative. It is time for us to remember what we were truly fighting for then and now, and do it together as a principled coalition against oppression. If not, we will never see an end to the senseless killing and dehumanization of so many communities of color. Today, we have an opportunity to ensure this legacy – his legacy – is never forgotten again. With the release of the film, Judas and the Black Messiah, we’ve helped reframe the narrative around the true history of the Black Panther Party movement and my father’s work, helping younger generations learn about more heroes in the fight for not only Black liberation but also the liberation of all oppressed people in this country.
As explored in the film’s educational guide, while the Black Panther Party was being demonized by the media and by the government, they were doing the real work to protect and support their community. In inner cities across America, they were providing free breakfasts for children, legal services, medical clinics and research into sickle cell anemia, and political education. Under my father’s leadership, the Black Panther Party launched the Free Breakfast Program and a re-education program for Chicago children. Today, The Triple C’s (Children, Community, and Cubs) program is carried out in the spirit of the Black Panther Party Free Breakfast Program. When Chairman Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers created the Rainbow Coalition, it was with the revolutionary idea that other communities suffering under the injustice of white supremacy and an exploitative system would be more powerful together. We must continue the legacy of fighting against these systems that keep people of color from the most basic right: to live and have self-determination. That’s what the Black Panthers dedicated their lives to — that people be protected from oppression because we reside in a nation that works against our very existence every chance it gets.
The same spirit of The Hampton House continues on today, serving as a safe haven and community development location for so many in the area. From providing warming centers during the infamous Vortex to hosting the weekly Free ‘Em All! Radio program and BPP Newspapers, to tapping into the local and international talent throughout the Maywood and Chicago area, and assisting with resolving intense community disputes, The Hampton House’s existence enables people to get involved, fight for their own self-determination, and uplift the true story of the good that the Black Panther Party brought to communities across the board. The short film “A Revolutionary Act,” developed by Participant, the visual artist Malakai, and the Save the Hampton House Initiative helps to paint the full picture of what this home meant to my father, and especially what it would mean for the cause and for the community-at-large for The Hampton House to be officially registered as a historic landmark. Striving to cement my father’s wishes into reality, I intensely call upon you to walk with us…not only in the footsteps but the Black Panther Party Paw steps in the joint struggle for self-determination. In the spirit of liberation… Stand with us…Show solidarity with us. Dare to Struggle with us!
Save The Hampton House.
–Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., Black Panther Party Cubs.
To support and donate to the Hampton House, please visit www.savethehamptonhouse.org.
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