15 Of Fred Hampton’s Most Political And Revolutionary Quotes

Source: Chicago Tribune / Getty

UPDATED: Dec. 4, 2024, 9:30 a.m.

Fred Hampton, the leader of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers who was assassinated by Chicago police 55 years ago on Wednesday, was the living personification of the word “revolutionary” by any standard. He was only 21 years old when he was killed on Dec. 4, 1969, but his political, social and revolutionary legacy has stood the test of time for more than double the time he was alive, and counting.

Keep reading to find some of Fred Hampton’s most political and revolutionary quotes.

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Despite his youth — or perhaps because of it — Hampton became one of the most respected and charismatic leaders of the original Black Panther Party who shook up the American political structure with his views that were described as radical at the time. His political views arguably ultimately paved the road for some of the country’s current crop of elected officials who are now seen as moderate.

However, at the time in the late 1960s, those views that advocated for the advancement and unity of Black and brown people in opposition to the police state in which many of them lived prompted law enforcement to plot his death. The FBI began keeping tabs on Hampton up until the fateful night he and Mark Clark, a 22-year-old Black Panther leader, were killed during a police raid in Peoria, Illinois.

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Their assassinations were facilitated by a fellow member of the Black Panther Party who became an informant. At the time, William O’Neal was third in command of the Chicago chapter of the Black Panthers who told then-Cook County State’s Attorney Edward Hanrahan where Hampton would be on the night of Dec. 4, 1969.

His memory has not faded, though, and Hampton is still very much an endeared figure, especially in Black Chicago. It is there on the city’s west side where Hampton’s likeness is memorialized on a mural that includes one of the gifted speaker’s famous quotes: “I Am A Revolutionary — Free Em All.”

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There’s also a major motion picture biopic called “Judas and the Black Messiah” starring Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya and produced by Ryan Coogler, who directed the blockbuster international hit film, “Black Panther.”

Some of Hampton’s other accomplishments in life include organizing a student chapter of the NAACP in Maywood, Illinois. Hampton also brought together poor Black, white and Puerto Rican people as part of the “Rainbow Coalition” and inspired peace among several warring gangs.

To get a better idea of what Fred Hampton was all about, don’t take our word for it — read the man’s words for yourself as we’ve compiled 10 of his most politically revolutionary quotes, courtesy of the Everyday Power website.

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