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Today, 46 years ago, Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Black Panther Party in my city of Chicago, IL, along with fellow black panther, Mark Clark, were raided and murdered by the Chicago Police Department and FBI that riddled with over 90 bullets.
I drove to the address where he was assassinated. The number address is 2337, but the building has been completely renovated. The street has newly apartements and condominiums. A very quiet neigborhood.
As I walk down the street and stand in front of the building, I realized something is missing - a marker. There should definitely be a historical marker in front of the building that reads the horrific event that happend December 4, 1969. I wondered if Fred Hampton had meetings in his apartment and what was discussed? Who came by to visit him? How did he protect himself? How many guns did he have?
When I think of Fred Hampton and how he was murdered, I think about all the young black men and also women (we can't forget about them) that have been murdered by police. The lives of our black brothas and sistas do not matter in the eyes of society. It saddens me that African American children and young adults don't know if they will go to college, get a good job, get married, have children/grandchildren and grow old because of the fears of gun violence by the police and in our own community.
As a mother, my son is 24 years old. I have this fear on a daily basis. When the sun goes down in Chicago that's when I fear the most. Before, I go to bed and when I wake up in the morning, I check his Facebook status to see when was his last post. I should not have to do this, but in order for me not to stress, I have to do this.
With the recent events with Laquan McDonald and the lies and deceit of the Mayor, State's Attorney and the corrupt Chicago Police Department, it is apparent that we, as citizens of Chicago, are not safe and lost alot of respect that I don't know if can be fixed any time soon because the Mayor and State's Attorney refuse to step down for their own selfish reasons.
I am so proud of the younger generation for standing up and making their voices known. They are our future and it is up to us as adults, parents and elders to support our young black soldiers.
Hopefully, one day, we will be done with the corruption and shine back the light on the beauty of Chicago, but right now, please pray for my city.