The Murder of Fred Hampton
Directed by Howard Alk
1971/US
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime rental
I believe I’m going to die doing the things I was born to do. I believe I’m going to die high off the people. I believe I’m going to die a revolutionary in the international revolutionary proletarian struggle. — Fred Hampton
This documentary made a nice counterpoint to the rogue cop movies I have been watching lately.
Fred Hampton was the Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1969. This was during the time of the trial of the “Chicago Eight” for conspiracy to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. He was a fiery speaker and advocate for social justice, which the party believed could come only through an armed socialist revolution of the people. The documentary includes plenty of Black Panther oratory from this time from Hampton and others.
On December 4, 1969, the Chicago Police shot Hampton multiple times while he was laying in his bed at 4 a.m. with the pregnant mother of his soon to be born child. He was 21 years old. The police were executing a search warrant for weapons on the property, of which there were many. They claimed the Panthers shot first but the ballistics evidence seemed to point in a different direction. The Panthers claimed Hampton’s death was a premeditated assassination orchestrated by the FBI. Many scholars now believe the Panthers theory.
There is no voice-over narration. This is primarily of interest as a historical document. I would say it is a pretty potent one.
