Black Neighborhoods | Day 8 | Which legendary Black Panther Party leader’s childhood home became a historic landmark in 2022?

Day 8

“I am a revolutionary. I am a proletariat;  I am the people.”

- Fred Hampton

The Address: 804 S.17th Ave, Maywood, IL 60153

The Story: He was the rising star.

The youngest “Chairman”

The greatest hope of The Black Panther Party.

He was Tupac before Tupac.

Young, charismatic, and powerfully Influential.

His name was Fred Hampton.

Brilliant organizer. He fed thousands. Housed the poor. Educated a new generation. Brokered peace.

He understood the source of true power.

“Power to the People!”

…and that kind of power terrified the authorities.

Before dawn, on December 4,1969, an army of police officers raided the home of 21-year-old Fred Hampton, while he was sleeping. In a storm of 90+ government-issued bullets, they rained down terror on Fred and the love of his life Akua. She was in her nightgown, asleep and pregnant. She and their child survived. Fred Hampton and his friend Mark did not.

This was the single greatest tragedy of The Black Power Movement.

But rather than talking about the tragedy, we want to spend our time talking about the miracle of a man, Fred Hampton.

Who raised him?

What was his childhood like?

What was the source of his booming voice and resounding hope? Who gave him that dimpled smile? His mama? What about the glint of sincerity in his eyes?

Most importantly, how can we love and nurture an army of powerful Black men like him?

Let’s go back to his childhood home to investigate…