Remembering Fred Hampton, assassinated while he slept in the wee hours of December 4, 1969, by a joint hit-squad comprised of the FBI, the Chicago police and officers of the State Attorney.
I first learned of this story as a child, gathered with my family to watch all the episodes of “Eyes on the Prize”. I watched the documentary “The Murder of Fred Hampton” in college. No matter how many times I read what happened, it always lands as a heavy wound upon the heart.
In response to events like these we often take the celebratory, sloganeering approach, declaring that “Fred Lives!” or aptly quoting his own words, “You can kill a revolutionary but you can’t kill the revolution.” True. But sometimes the death of a beautiful, brilliant, promising 21-year-old man isn’t just an occasion to throw a defiant fist up in the air / blogosphere. Sometimes we just need to mourn.
