Chicago-area events mark 55 years since Black Panther leader Fred Hampton's death in police raid
Fred Hampton, Jr. wants to turn site of raid into museum, build park next-door
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Events across the Chicago area Wednesday are marking 55 years since Fred Hampton's death.
The civil rights leader and Black Panther chairman was killed in a Chicago police and FBI raid, when he was 21 years old.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
There is a full schedule of events for what organizers are calling "International Revolutionary Day," in an effort to carry on Hampton's mission for social justice.
On Dec. 4, 1969, CPD and the FBI saw the then-deputy chairman of the National Black Panther Party as a threat, during the height of the civil rights movement.
It's widely believed they drugged Hampton before raiding his home, where they shot and killed him while he was sleeping in bed.
Hampton's friend, Mark Clark, was also killed that night.
"When the shooting started, and I felt it going into bed, I jumped on top of Fred. And it was, I didn't think about it. I just did it," Fred Hampton, Sr.'s Akua Njeri said Wednesday.
Njeri was lying next to the chairman when he was shot.
She was eight months pregnant at the time, with Fred Hampton, Jr.
"I know that they would murder me and my baby, my unborn child. So, I was focusing on not crying," Njeri said.
At noon, Hampton's life was honored at the same Chicago home where he was killed, located at 2337 W. Monroe St.
Supporters raised their clenched fists for 10 minutes in the cold.
"In many cases, my birth certificate almost was my death certificate," Fred Hampton, Jr. said.
The assassination sparked nationwide protests. The now-chairman was born less than a month after his father was killed. Fred Hampton, Jr. is stepping into his father's shoes to carry out the mission of racial equality.
"Self-determination, the right to determine the destiny of our lives, there's a difference between living and existing. But that is self-determination," Hampton, Jr. said.
Hampton, Jr. said in order to keep his father's legacy alive, he's working to buy the Monroe Street property, and turn it into a museum, as well refurbish the space next to it into a remembrance park.
"To be here today, 55 years later, with the people still showing, still remember the legacy of Chairman Fred," he said.
"Chairman Fred lives; Chairman Fred lives," Njeri said.
Just a few blocks down from a mural of Hampton, they'll be in the same spot next year, holding up their right fist, keeping his legacy alive.
Black Panther party members also met and toured exhibits at the DuSable Museum Wednesday.
At 8 p.m., there is a concert at the Hampton House, located at 804 S. 17th Ave. in Maywood.
