Remembering Our Revolutionary Heroes: Fred Hampton

Rise! Resist! Revolt! will begin to run monthly pieces on different revolutionary figures in history, their accomplishments for the people, and their meaning for people in the struggle today. The first installment of "Remembering Our Revolutionary Heroes" will be about Fred Hampton in honor of the 40th anniversarry of his murder today, December 4th.



December Fourth is a day of great loss as well as a day to pay respect to a great revolutionary leader; Fred Hampton. On this day Forty years ago Fred Hampton was murdered in a rain of bullets by Chicago police who kicked down his door. Hampton didn't resist, he didn't even have time too because the cops were there to kill him.

How things went down

Hampton had taught a political education on the evening of December third. Him and his fellow panthers retired to his apartment after, as was customary. At 4:45 in the morning, The police busted down the door. firing automatic rounds throughout the house. The following transcript was heard by Hamptons comrade who was "sleeping" when the raid happened.

"That's Fred Hampton."
"Is he dead?... Bring him out."
"He's barely alive; he'll make it."
(Two Gun Shots)
"He's good and dead now."

The Next day the pigs claimed they had taken out a "extremely vicious" cell of the BPP. They were later praised for their "bravery" (killing unarmed people while they sleep takes courage of course) and their "restraint". Soon however the truth leaked out it was found that police had fired 98 shots while the panthers fired 1.

Why it matters today

The important lesson from the murder of Fred Hampton is that contrary to whatever the capitalists may say about this country being a "democracy" with "free speach", Fred Hampton is one of the most blatant examples of how this is no democracy, it is a dictatorship of the ruling capitalist class which brutally suppresses people who really speak up and challenge things and gain a following.

Revolutionaries and progressive people need to recognize this, and take security precautions so that in a future revolutionary situation, we do not make the same mistakes of allowing the police to know our location and kick down our doors at will.

Fred Hampton and the Movement

Fred Hampton, represented one of the leaders of the Black Panther Party who was in it until the end. When he was martyred he was a primiere leader in the party. This was important because it was largely due to him, and others like him, that the most successful revolutionary vanguard in US history was built. Fred Hampton understood Revolution

A lot of people get the word revolution mixed up and they think revolutions a bad word. Revolution is nothing but like having a sore on your body and then you put something on that sore to cure that infection. And Im telling you that were living in an infectious society right now. Im telling you that were living in a sick society. And anybody that endorses integrating into this sick society before its cleaned up is a man whos committing a crime against the people.

He also understood community organizing and appealing to the people's needs. Because of this, him and his fellow cadre were able to build a fighting party which was armed, educated, and providing for the masses. The importance of Fred Hampton to Revolutionaries today is immense as his example is one for everyone trying to build a movement in the "belly of the beast" to build on and learn from.