Fred Hampton, Sr. 8/30/1948 - 12/4/1969

I meant to post this blog awhile ago. It is in honor of Fred Hampton, Sr. who was murdered in his sleep on December 4, 1969 by a coalition of the Cook County SAO, the FBI, and the Chicago PD. This story still fascinates/haunts/angers/inspires me and I will always have questions about that fatal night. I've researched Hampton's life as best I could, and I also have turned many pages trying to find out the details of his death. I know enough to know it was tragic and horrible. I guess you could say I became obsessed with finding out more about him and his cause, and when I become obsessed with something I usually scribble out some imaginative poetry.

A cup given by a friend to a giant
Had to knock him down on his knees or they would've never knocked him dead.
Just a drink of Kool-Aid
Just a drink was all it was.
Does he know now?
In his resting place does he know?
Some of us know it was much more than just a drink,
Some of us know it was way before that drink
The things that took place--
Secret letters and meetings
Two faces on one man
Deceit at the highest level
"Some us were brothers for a cause, yes, but some of us were traitors for another cause.
We were your targets,
You sought us out like innocent prey.
We didn't target nobody!
We only aimed at those who targeted US!
Political prisoners in the Land of the Free
Every crime you committed ended up our doing.
But your neutralization efforts only point to one truth:
That we were working. Our cause was working!
And your denial of your plans of action only proved one truth:
That your measures were completely UNJUST."

There's more to this topic that I will hopefully post later. If you have never heard of Fred Hampton (I hadn't heard of him until my second year in college) look him up and read about his life and death.

“You can kill a revolutionary but you can never kill the revolution.” -F. Hampton, Sr.

Conflicts of Interest

If not for her vagabond ways, then maybe for her rare and undeserving beauty?
If not because she had no husband or child, then maybe because she had numerous lovers?
If not because of her far-fetched, girlish dreams of stardom, then maybe because of her striking independence and her unshakable nerve?
If not because all of her "friends" wore two faces, then maybe because she meant little to anyone?
If not because her family wasn't surprised, then maybe because she was asking for it in the first place?
If not because the case just simply ran cold, then maybe because the story of her death was more important than her life.