Forty years ago, the Illinois Black Panther Party lost its chairman and another member in an apparent one-way gun battle with Chicago police on the West Side. Now, a new book details the “assassination” of Chairman Fred Hampton, the man behind the Black Panther movement.
“The media only talks about the militia aspect. They forget about the kids he fed and all the good he tried to do in the community,” the slain Panther's brother, Bill Hampton, told the Defender, explaining the need for the book, The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther.
The book, written by Jeffrey Haas, an attorney who represented Hampton and the Panther Party in the 1960s, also touches on Fred Hampton's early years that helped “mold him as a freedom fighter,” Bill Hampton said.
The Chicago Defender will host a book signing Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Defender’s office, 4445 S. King Dr. The author is scheduled to appear at the signing. For more information on the book signing event, please call 312-225-2400 or 708-681-0025.
Copyright 2010 Chicago Defender.
