april 19 - 25, 2021 Vol. 29 No. 16
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Arts & (Home) Entertainment
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SportsWise
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Cover Story: Judas and the black messiah
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We are replacing our usual calendar with virtual events and recommendations from StreetWise vendors, readers and staff to keep you entertained at home! Vendor Donald Morris discusses the 2021 Women's NCAA Final Four and Championship.
Nominated for 5 Acadamy Awards at this Sunday's ceremony, "Judas and the Black Messiah" is a piece of Chicago history.
The Playground ON THE COVER & THIS PAGE: DANIEL KALUUYA as Chairman Fred Hampton and LAKEITH STANFIELD as Bill O’Neal in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
Dave Hamilton, Creative Director/Publisher
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StreetWiseChicago @StreetWise_CHI
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Amanda Jones, Director of programs
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Julie Youngquist, Executive director
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ARTS & (HOME) ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Since being stuck inside, which shows have you been watching? Which movies? Have you read any good books lately? Any new music releases have you dancing in your living room? StreetWise vendors, readers and staff are sharing what is occupying their attention during this unprecedented time. To be featured in a future edition, send your recommendations of what to do at home and why you love them to Creative Director / Publisher Dave Hamilton at dhamilton@streetwise.org
Empowering Theater!
Black Teen Lives Matter: Taking a stand Black Teens Lives Matter returns! Silk Road Rising’s virtual project in four acts draws on monologues and short plays written by Black teens in the EPIC (Empathic Playwriting Intensive Course) program from 2017-2020. “Black Teen Lives Matter: Taking a Stand” is curated by Brianna Buckley, Elena Feliz, Jabari Khaliq, Jarrett King, and Londen Shannon. “Taking a Stand” features four short plays about Black youth and young adults standing up for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. W hen the pressures of teachers, leaders, and society as a whole work to keep each play's characters in their perceived "places," these newfound heroes snap into action and go toe-to-toe with injustice and erasure. Directed by EPIC Teaching Artist Jarrett King, this collection of student-written plays will premiere on Saturday, April 24 at 2 p.m. Stay and discuss the plays with the creators. An encore presentation and talkback will occur on Monday, April 26 at 7 p.m. The event is free but tickets are required. Purchase tickets for either date at www.silkroadrising.org .
(HOME) ENTERTAINMENT
Revolutionary!
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¡Viva la Libertad! Newberry Library presents: “"¡Viva la Libertad! Forming More Perfect Unions Across the Americas," a series of programs taking place online and throughout Chicago in 2021 and 2022. Featuring maps, manuscripts, and rare books from the Age of Revolutions, this exhibition returns to the 1820s, when new countries emerged from colonial rule across the Americas—from Mexico to Chile. These countries faced many challenges, including how best to govern, allocate resources, and treat their diverse populations. "¡Viva la Libertad!" explores these challenges while asking questions at the heart of struggles for independence: W hat does it mean to declare independence? Who is included and who is left out? The exhibit runs through July 24. For more information, visit newberry.org .
Inside the Art!
Immersive Van Gogh The Immersive Van Gogh exhibit has been extended! Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago, a new venue within Chicago’s recently renovated landmark Germania Club Building, will host the event all summer. Immersive Van Gogh is custom-designed for the space, offering a look into the mind of the world’s most iconic impressionist artist, the one and only Vincent Van Gogh. Explore Van Gogh’s most famous masterpieces such as "Starry Night," "Sunflowers" and "The Bedroom," with large-scale projections that animate every inch of the architecture, along with music, storytelling and the opportunity to lay down in a socially distant circle with a pillow to take it all in. Tickets range from $40-$55 depending on when they are purchased. The event runs through November 28, but is sold out through May, you can check availability at vangoghchicago.com and purchase tickets there and at (844) 307-4644.
Local Playwrights!
House Party Series Slideshow Theatre presents its House Party Series, five readings of plays broadcast over the course of the spring and summer. Next up: Koua is a fast-moving whirlwind. By age 24, she had survived the “American War” in Laos and refugee camps in Thailand. This mother of six is determined to give her children a better life in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she faces her greatest obstacles. Written by Dawn Renee Jones (pictured), this event begins at 7 p.m. on April 23. Find more information at www.sideshowtheatre.org.
Beautiful Classical!
'Poetic Strings' Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) continues its popular “IPO Reimagined” virtual season with its spring concert, “Poetic Strings,” filmed in IPO’s stunning home venue, Ozinga Chapel at Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights. The hour-long, virtual concert features 32 IPO string players performing American modernist composer Ruth Crawford’s “Andante” followed by AustrianAmerican composer Arnold Schoenberg’s “Transfigured Night.” The event streams April 19-23. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at ipomusic.org
National Poetry Month!
Virtual 40th anniversary for Poetry East magazine Celebrate April as National Poetry Month with the Chicago Public Library and Poetry East Magazine from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday April 21 on CPL’s YouTube channel and at facebook.com/chipublib/ Founded in 1980, the internationally acclaimed literary magazine is celebrating National Poetry Month with two milestones--its 40th anniversary and its 100th issue. In the notoriously fleeting world of poetry publications, where life-expectancy is typically less than 10 years, the publication's record of sustained excellence is truly remarkable. More impressive still, Poetry East has been edited from the start by the noted poet Richard Jones, an English professor at DePaul University, where the magazine is based. Jones will be in conversation with Miles Harvey, director of the DePaul Publishing Institute and editor of “The King of Confidence.” You will be able to ask questions at the event. Can’t make it? The video will be archived on YouTube.
Portrait of an Artist!
'What time is it?: A Portrait Project by Irina Zadov' Hyde Park Art Center, the non-profit hub for contemporary art located on Chicago’s vibrant South Side, announces “W hat Time Is It?: A Portrait Project by Irina Zadov,” a digital portrait series to be projected on the exterior of the Art Center building in the Jackman Goldwasser Catwalk Gallery, now through May 1, 5-10 p.m. “W hat Time Is It?” debuts a rotating series of large-scale digital portraits of some of Chicago’s most influential cultural community members on the facade of the Hyde Park Art Center. These 50 hand-painted portraits, created by Chicago-based artist and organizer, Irina Zadov, highlight contemporary artists, authors, activists and thinkers working now to radically transform our city. Learn more about the artist and the exhibition at www.hydeparkart.org/exhibition-archive/what-time-is-it-irina-zadov/ .
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-Compiled by Hannah Ross
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Vendor Donald Morris chats about the world of sports.
Vendor Donald Morris
on
2021 Women's NCAA
March Madness NCAA Women’s Final Four—I absolutely loved it. Loved it. See, learning about and watching women’s basketball is one of my passions. It’s something different in how women play, how they vibe, how they think—I am moved to no end. For those who didn’t witness the Final Four’s three games, I’ll break it down for you.
SPORTSWISE
The Final Four teams were the South Carolina Gamecocks, Stanford Cardinals, Connecticut Huskies—also known as UConn—and the Arizona Wildcats—all #1 seeds with the exception of Arizona, a #3 seed. The South Carolina and Stanford game was as good as it gets. The first half was as great a defensive effort as I’ve ever witnessed. Both teams turned it up on the defensive end, and at the half, the score was 31-25. In the second half, both turned up their offensive intensity, especially Stanford’s Haley Jones, who scored 11 points in the third quarter to match South Carolina’s Zia Cooke. It was beautiful to watch: Jones battling inside for hers; Cooke knocking down the long ball. In the end, despite a 6-0 run by South Carolina to go ahead by one in the final seconds, Stanford pulled it out. Who would Stanford play? The always-in-contention UConn Huskies versus the
team-that-could Arizona Wildcats—again, the lowest-ranked team of the four. I believe this played a major role in why UConn were upset: They overlooked the “lowly” #3-seeded team. UConn, respectfully led by All-Everything freshman Paige Bueckers, not only lost, but they lost by double digits in the tournament for the first time since 2007. Arizona’s defense stifled the team that won four straight championships from 2013-2016 and has been a player every year since. Listen, the reason it’s tough to un-focus from UConn’s loss as opposed to focusing on the Wildcats’ victory is because UConn’s the team we know and love; although, because they do win seemingly all the time, many love to dislike them. It’s nice to see an upstart team who’s not supposed to win, win. You witness the little person outdo the bigger one—and to not do it in
the way that it usually happens—mentally and strategically—but physically. Change is exciting. So, we get to it: the championship game between the upstart Arizona Wildcats and the fresh-off-an-intenseand-tightly-contested game against South Carolina, the Stanford Cardinals. Before I speak about the game, let me add that many wonder how a highly-academicallyranked school such as a Stanford can also be so successful at sports, seeing as one would think a team would be one or the other: it’s because of the intelligence involved. Most anyone can learn to robotically hit a free throw or pass a ball; however, to be able to think on the move or understand a teammate in what she needs is power. It’s like ballet to me.
So, Stanford versus Arizona would come down to the wire. After a back-and-forth game—one of runs—Stanford downed Arizona by a single point. Arizona did have an opportunity to pull off its second upset in a row as Arizona’s star player, Aari McDonald, had a shot for the win, but the Stanford defense stifled her and Arizona, and the 2021 champion was crowned. P.S. This year’s tournament— despite this little thing called the coronavirus pandemic— was so exciting and powerful and inspiring that I selfishly hope the Chicago Sky can pull one or three of these players. As well put-together as we already are, we could reach the mountaintop with this charactered bunch.
Any comments or suggestions? Email pedwards@streetwise.org
Chicago South Side Film Festival hosts discussion With Fred hampton's Family and Friends
From Left: Akua Njeri; Fred Hampton Jr.; Khaliyq Muhammad; Alicia Bunton
by Hannah Ross
On Dec. 4, 1969, the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton, was drugged and assassinated in his home by the Chicago Police Department, FBI and Cook County State’s Attorney, leaving behind a fiancée and son who are now board member and chairman respectively of the Black Panther Party Cubs. On March 26, the Chicago South Side Film Festival streamed the Oscar-nominated film, “Judas and the Black Messiah” preceded by a panel discussion. The discussion was mediated by Alicia Bunton, director of community affairs at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and featured Akua Njeri, who had been Hampton’s fiancée; their son, Fred Hampton Jr. and attorney Khaliyq Muhammad. IIT’s Office of Community Affairs, Hampton House, Muhammad Law and the Greater Bronzeville Community Action Council and the film festival co-sponsored the panel and screening. Alicia Bunton: How accurate is the film? Mother Akua Njeri: We made numerous trips [to meet with the producers], some with our attorney, Khaliyq Muhammad. There were many struggles and debates because most people had a preconceived notion of what the Black Panther Party was. Oftentimes, it fit into their comfort level. We were able to bring the truth and win most of the battles, but not all of them. And we ended up with a magnificent project. [When we met the actors and directors], Chairman asked everyone why they wanted to do this film. Daniel Kaluuya [who plays Chairman Fred Hampton] said, “I wasn’t auditioning when I spoke to them. I was talking to them as a Black man.” And I saw that, I felt that.
Alicia: I cannot begin to understand the trauma that you endured on Dec. 4, 1969. Can you describe the healing process? Mother Akua: This work. The honor and privilege to be a member of the Black Panther Party Cubs and to be on the advisory board, which continues the legacy wherever it’s being challenged, maligned and twisted. My strength comes from the ability to fight back against the oppressive system. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I love this work. It’s never done, but it’s such an honor to fight. Alicia: If you could go back in time and speak to your younger self, what would you say? Mother Akua: Nothing. I think that you have to experience certain things to be who you are. If I had a magic wand and could fix all the injustices in the world, I would. But the injustices we faced were necessary in fighting against a terroristic oppressive government. We weren’t going to get our freedom by singing 'Kumbaya' or voting in people in our interests. That’s not what we were about. If there’s any way nobody could’ve been murdered, assassinated, run out of the country, that’s the magic wand I would wave, but that’s some abstract non-reality that only exists in the mind of a child. Alicia: What would you like to leave the audience with. Mother Akua: Thank you for this opportunity. The one thing I want people to go away with is to look up the Black Panther Party Cubs. Listen to the radio show. Go to the website, get some information and see at what level you can participate. Become an active per-
Vendor Review: Lee A. Holmes I remember my dad telling me, “never join nothing you don’t know.”
DOMINIQUE FISHBACK as Deborah Johnson (Akua Njeri) in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
He told me he stood for Black Panthers, read many books about the Panthers, like “Revolutionary Suicide” [the autobiography of Huey P. Newton, (Random House 1973) the Black Panther Party co-founder with Bobby Seale in Oakland, CA].
son in the struggle for self-determination in the respective communities on their own terms.
The movie touched on a lot of different things. It spoke to what’s going on today as far as racism, sexism and all these other “isms.” That America, or white supremacist America, is not willing to let go of the isms to bring about a better America. How the FBI forced an individual to infiltrate the Panthers. How they assassinated Malcolm, assassinated King because of their willingness to bring about a better America.
Fred Hampton Jr.: First and foremost, I’m honored to be here. The Black Panther Party Cubs’ purpose is to talk politics, revise laws, push forward campaigns to free political prisoners. The streets are our office. Power to the people. Free them all.
On how this country manipulates, infiltrates and keeps divisions between people of different nationalities. I don’t consider myself to be Black. I am a national citizen, but those whom we call Black people have been oppressed and this movie speaks to that.
Khaliyq Muhammad: Thank you so much for this opportunity to come on here and speak. It’s always a pleasure to speak about the work that needs to be done. Certainly, there are big battles that we all have to fight. Sometimes we don’t get recognition on a particular project that we worked on, but the people that matter, they know. And it’s all about doing the work regardless of who’s watching.
This is not a movie about Fred Hampton. This is a movie about the change Fred Hamption wanted to bring about, a movie talking about what’s going on today in America that pits one against another, about left wing and right wing division that is tearing this country apart. As Jesus said in Mark 3:25, a house divided against itself will fall. www.streetwise.org
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chicago activist mary scott-boria reflects on 'Judas and the black messiah' and her time with the black panther party by Suzanne Hanney
A Black Panther Party member in the late 1960s, Mary Scott-Boria doesn’t remember any shotgun shoot-outs with police as in the movie, “Judas and the Black Messiah." “I thought the movie hyped that aspect up too much,” ScottBoria said in a telephone interview. “I was never asked to participate in anything that was a violent interaction.” Scott-Boria remembers not darkness, but sunny days on Madison Street, peddling the Panther Party newspaper. She also recalls the Panthers’ free breakfast program for kids on the West Side and Illinois Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton interacting with everyday people just as readily as he mesmerized crowds with his speeches. “This hard-core revolutionary wasn’t all that he was. The reality was, there was sort of this air of hyper-machismo. The men – if you’ve been demonized and dehumanized and get positions of power -- sometimes it goes to your head. It didn’t go to Fred’s head, but it did go to other guys’ heads.” Scott-Boria said she counted eight times in the film where Hampton’s character showed an emotional connection to his fiancée, now known as Akua Njeri. Njeri was pregnant with Hampton’s son when [plot spoiler] Chicago Police broke into their apartment and assassinated him on Dec. 4, 1969, at the behest of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office and the FBI. “[The movie] showed sort of a softer side of what the image of him is. It was nice. It might have been overplayed, but it balanced this image of him as radical revolutionary,” she said.
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brutality, exemption from the military because it fought wars against people of color, and more] that really spoke to the needs of people, primarily African Americans. And Fred was very deliberate about aligning with Latinos, poor whites, very deliberate about a coalition with these groups.” Hampton’s organizing followed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1966 Chicago Freedom Movement and the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which brought anti-war activists from across the nation. “Fred had the ability to make a connection with a lot of national sentiment against the war.”
Even if the word “revolution” wasn’t used, Hampton’s work was about transforming society. Besides the free breakfasts, the Panthers ran a health center and were the first to do sickle cell anemia testing, which was later taken over by Cook County Hospital, she said. Simultaneously, Scott-Boria recalls an interview Hampton did with a Chicago journalist (not part of the movie) where he was asked about actions of the Students for a Democratic Society and the Weathermen. “He said, ‘that’s crazy, we’re not bombing buildings.’” But Hampton advocated dramatic change for Black people to feel free. “That meant protecting ourselves against the police because the police didn’t protect us, forcing the government to meet the needs of the people, forcing schools to live up to the promise of integration. Things we are still struggling for.” Socialism provided a framework, she said, “because there were models of countries like Cuba that were taking care of their people. It was very much a threat to J. Edgar Hoover because the Panthers were gaining momentum. So much was happening in 1968 and 1969 that Hoover was quite afraid of the rhetoric of the Black Panther Party being a connection to Vietnam and Cuba and the African liberation struggle being fueled by the Soviet Union.”
How much of the Panther strategy was really about government overthrow and joining with the Soviet Union?
However, Soviet communism was a state system, she said, whereas socialism is Medicare, Social Security, the federal housing authority, public education.
Scott-Boria said she didn’t know the extent to which Panther leadership was involved with revolutionary leaders overseas, but “I know the literature we read was focused on international solidarity with countries that had become socialist countries. The Panthers advocated this 10-point program [full employment, housing, education, end to police
“We have pieces of socialism in our country already. The argument of socialism vs. capitalism is, ‘are we going to sell off our education system to private vendors, or keep public education that can be equalized for everyone? Are we going to make Medicare for all so that everyone can have access to health care?’
(L-r) DARRELL BRITT-GIBSON as Bobby Rush, DANIEL KALUUYA as Chairman Fred Hampton and LAKEITH STANFIELD as Bill O’Neal in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. INSETS: Mary Scott-Boria today and in the '70s (courtesy photos).
“That’s the modern-day idea of socialism. We not trying to governmentize, but to realize there’s certain inalienable rights everyone should have access to.” Scott-Boria came to her activism while a student at Richard Crane Junior College on the West Side. The college was housed in a portion of an old school building, which meant the Black Panthers were rubbing shoulders with Black liberationists and Black nationalists, perhaps 20 to 30 people in all, in a second-floor hallway.
She thinks Hampton’s idea of revolution was a mass movement to force the government to change its policies toward Black people. “I felt like sort of the rhetoric was, ‘we don’t believe in this government, but this government has made a promise of equal rights, so it’s our job to force this government to change.’” Following Hampton's murder, Scott-Boria left the Panthers after about six months, during which time another friend they had recruited was shot by police.
As the daughter of a Black father and an activist white mother, Scott-Boria used the Panthers as an opportunity to prove her Blackness.
“I thought, ‘this murder demonstrates the power of the state, not the power of the Panthers.’ I just felt like I couldn’t do it anymore.” She also had a little daughter to protect.
“I’m here in black pants and a black shirt. I had a black beret. Because I was so light-skinned, my Afro needed to be bigger, and I needed to wear those combat boots” – even at the National Honor Society dinner.
Finishing her degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), she also became interested in women’s issues, such as a campaign against forced sterilization of young Puerto Rican women. After college, she became a social worker at a hospital, an abortion counselor immediately after Roe v. Wade became inactive. After completing her graduate degree in social work at UIC , she worked for the City -without being beholden to the Machine, since the Shakman Decrees had recently been passed.
“It was a very small space we congregated in, so we had lots of opportunities to talk to each other and feel excited. We were trying really hard to get a new college because we were in that crappy little high school. Our goal was to force the City Colleges to give us a new college. It snowballed.” The result was Malcolm X College, opened in 1969 at 1900 W. Van Buren and named after the Nation of Islam leader assassinated in 1965. The students also demanded a Black president, new faculty and more Black studies classes. “We thought there would be massive change in the '60s because of the power of our voice and the power of momentum. As I get older, I realize it doesn’t happen like that, although George Floyd was a moment in time, that fueled activism.”
She organized community rape crisis centers around the idea of a hotline, and became the first executive director of the Chicago Sexual Assault Services Network, for which the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago was the fiscal agent. She was founding executive member of the Cook County Democratic Women and later, director of women’s services at the YWCA, then successively associate director and director of the Youth Services Project in Humboldt Park and finally, director of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest urban studies program for 15 years.
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hoover memos are 'compelling proof,' lead congressman to seek Department of justice files by Suzanne Hanney
The discovery of memos from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, himself, regarding the assassination of Fred Hampton prompted U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) and six of his colleagues to ask Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland on March 31 to release unredacted and unclassified Department of Justice files related to Hampton’s death. The 21-year-old Hampton was killed in his sleep Dec. 4, 1969, in a predawn raid by agents of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, Chicago Police Department and the FBI. “A wrongful death civil suit and FBI whistleblower later exposed Hoover’s nefarious COINTELPRO operation, a series of covert and illegal projects aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting and disrupting domestic political organizations including the Black Panther Party," Rush’s office noted in prepared material. “Such violations of legal and constitutional protections are not only unacceptable, they pose a direct threat to our notion of justice and to our standing as a nation of laws,” Rush and the members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL), wrote in their letter to Atty. Gen. Garland. William O’Neal was captain of security for the Panthers and an FBI informant, the subject of the movie, “Judas and the Black Messiah.” O’Neal’s FBI personnel file contained two documents that requested and obtained a $300 bonus for furnishing a “detailed floor plan of the [Hampton] apartment” that “subsequently proved to be of tremendous value” and “was not available from any other source,” attorneys Flint Taylor and Jeff Haas of the People’s Law Office wrote in Truthout. The documents were among 200 suppressed FBI files the two attorneys eventually received in their federal civil rights case brought on behalf of the families of Hampton, slain Panther Mark Clark and seven survivors. In order to avoid judicial condemnation for the suppression, the government joined with Cook County and the City of Chicago to settle for what was at the time the largest police violence settlement in federal court history, Taylor and Haas wrote.
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However, the FBI never produced the personnel file for Roy Martin Mitchell, O’Neal’s control agent in the Chicago office. Nor were the two attorneys ever permitted to recall Mitchell to question him about O’Neal’s bonus document. Fifty-one years after the raid, on Dec. 4, 2020, writer/historian Aaron Leonard received a redacted copy of Mitchell’s personnel file in response to a Freedom of Information request filed five years earlier. Among the several hundred pages of documents was a Dec. 10, 1969 memo from Hoover praising Mitchell’s handling of O’Neal and recommending him for a $200 incentive award. On Nov. 6, 1970, Hoover provided Mitchell with another $200 incentive, and wrote, “The manner in which you have developed and handled a source of information of great importance to the Bureau in the racial field is certainly commendable.” The two memos provided “compelling proof,” Taylor and Haas wrote, “that the highest level of Bureau officials, including Hoover, were partners in the conspiracies.” The attorneys wrote that they wish to assist Leonard in his quest for FBI files because he has chronicled other 20th century leftists who have been victims of surveillance and harassment. They cited more recent government attacks on racial movements, such as TigerSwan at Standing Rock, and sophisticated military technology such as drones, sound cannons and concussion grenades in Ferguson, Mo. Not only are the government’s suppression mechanisms continuing, Taylor and Haas wrote, “but law enforcement continues to be closely aligned with emboldened forces of the violent and racist far right.” Also 51 years to the day after the raid, on Dec. 4, 2020, U.S. Rep. Rush quoted Hampton: “You can kill the revolutionary, but you cannot kill the revolution.” The occasion was Rush’s introduction to Congress of the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act, named after the 14-yearold Chicagoan who was violently killed in Mississippi in 1955. The legislation would make lynching a hate crime that would apply to cases like the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, VA, and the death of Ahmaud Arbery, which it would compel the FBI to investigate, Rush said.
Left: Bobby Rush with Fred Hampton (house.gov). Right: DANIEL KALUUYA (right) as Chairman Fred Hampton in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release (Glen Wilson photo).
The bill passed the House by a 410-4 vote on Feb. 26 and was sent to the Senate Feb. 27. Hampton was Rush’s best friend, chairman and co-founder with Rush of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. “Chairman Fred was both a visionary and a revolutionary, who fought for a more just world for everyone,” Rush said on the House floor. “I had the distinct privilege of recruiting and working alongside Fred during our righteous struggle for the liberation and emancipation of the people who had been ignored by those in power for far too long.” The Panthers’ work included community development through community health clinics, free breakfast for children and other critical social services. The Panther Party also helped broker a peace agreement between Chicago street gangs – the Latino Young Lords and the Young Patriots, an organization of poor whites living in Uptown -- that reduced violence in the city’s most marginalized neighborhoods, Rush said. “We banded together to fight many of the issues that still plague us to this very day, including police brutality, substandard housing, mediocre education, and low-quality health care.” What would have Hampton done with his life if he had lived? “It is hard for me to put into words how great Fred Hampton was because every day I live in the spirit of Fred Hampton,” Rush told The Grio at the February opening of “Judas
and the Black Messiah.” “I have no doubt that had he lived to become more of an adult, Fred would have been one of the greatest lawyers, and maybe even politicians, that we ever had. He had a desire to be a lawyer, he wanted to go to law school.” Rush continued, “Fred was such a dedicated, talented, courageous leader and had an amazing love for the people. Fred would raise his voice when he saw even members of the party taking advantage of their leadership position and being cruel or being antagonistic toward regular party members.” Rush is alive today because the Hampton apartment had been crowded with visitors, so Rush went to his own apartment at 2030 S. State St. But after learning of the murders, he went underground. He stayed with Father George Clements of Holy Angels Church, among others, he told Chinta Strausberg of the Chicago Crusader newspaper in 2016. His attorney and members of the Afro American Police League arranged to have him turn himself in to the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and then the 2nd Chicago Police District Commander. “I’ll never forget, Rev. Jackson said, ‘We’re turning him over to you, Commander,’ ” Rush told the Crusader. “I want you to look at him. He does not have a scratch on his face, on his body, no broken bones. He’s in fine health and that is how we want to see him again, in the same condition.’” Rush served on the Chicago City Council from 1983-1993 and has been Illinois 1st district congressman for the South Side and southwest suburbs for over two decades.
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Vendor Review: Remembering Fred Hampton by A. Allen
He was a trailblazer here, because this was before free breakfast was offered in the public schools. I remember how good the breakfast smelled when I entered the office of the Black Panthers. I can still remember how the bacon and eggs smelled – so, so good. And when they served us, I could then smell the hot, buttered toast. All that was served with grits, or oatmeal with juice and milk. The breakfast was so good early in the mornings. It was a great way to start the day. I still remember how the Panthers would rush us off to school, saying “don’t be late and learn as much as you can.” Concerning Chairman Fred Hampton, I remember them announcing weeks in advance the Illinois chairman would be coming to the South Side, then in two weeks, then in one week, then the next week, then in a couple of days, and finally, “he will be here tomorrow.” I was so excited the day finally came when I would meet Chairman Fred Hampton. I thought he would be this high and mighty guy dressed in fine clothes. He turned out to be an ordinary guy dressed in ordinary
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clothes, but he had a very strong, resounding voice. He was up close, in my ear. “Who are you?” “I am A. Allen.” “But who ARE you?” “I am a Black kid from down the street.” “You don’t know who you are. I am going to give you an identity. You are a revolutionary. Say it.” Even at age 7, it provoked a lot of thought for me. I felt it was deeper than I understood. I didn’t know the concept of what he was saying until I became much older, in or after high school. When he was killed, I remembered the moment I had spent with him, his significance. Now, with the movie, I understand where he was going with this, but at the time I didn’t. He was a very powerful speaker with a tenacious attitude toward social reform. But after speaking, he was a quiet, humble, respectful man, a man who could be easily loved.
Mural: Fred Hampton Jr., Chairman Fred, by artist Rebel Diaz. W. Madison St. at California Ave. (Library of Congress/ Camilo J. Vergara photo). INSET: A. Allen today; A. Allen with his mother.
Remembering Chairman Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers, I was only about 7 or 8 years old when I discovered there was a Black Panthers headquarters on 109th Street between Racine and Loomis, about half a block from where I lived. My first encounter with them came from the free breakfast program. My mom worked the second shift and was usually asleep in the morning. My dad worked the first shift and was mostly gone in the early mornings, so the breakfast program was perfect for us to attend.
Streetwise 4/18/16 Crossword
Sudoku
To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 1 to 9. ©2021 PuzzleJunction.com
7 Heart chambers 8 Mark’s successor 9 Jewish month 0 Harsh 1 La Scala highlight 2 Lens holders 3 Barbs 4 Goatish glance 5 Slangy denial
7 Wander 34 Channel 8 River to the marker Caspian 35 Employs 9 Some scampi 36 Blowgun 10 Sponsorship ammo 11 Join hands? 38 Lyric poem 12 ___ out! 39 River feature 13 Melee memento 44 Behemoths 21 Eddy 45 Hullabaloo 22 Exorcist’s 46 Smug smile target 47 Falcon’s home 26 Wife of 48 Part of a TV Hercules feed own 27 Chips in 49 Muscle spasm 28 Slanted type, 50 Clipped 1 Pincers briefly 51 Foolhardy 2 Ham’s need 29 Scarlett’s home 52 Camp Swampy 3 Harbingers 30 Auto pioneer dog 31 Judicious 4 Potter’s tool 53 Certain cookie 5 Engraved 32 One of the 54 Banquet 6 Type of gang Aleutians 55 Unpolluted PuzzleJunction.com or saw Copyright 33©2021 Yard pest 56 Mountain pool
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Sudoku Solution last week's Puzzle Answers
Solution
Sudoku Solution
PuzzleJu
Crossword
Across 1 Flower holder 5 Cold one 9 Certain colonist 12 “Be-Bop-___” (Gene Vincent hit) 13 Rajah’s mate 14 Lummox 16 Plateaus 18 “Do ___ others...” 19 Farm female 20 Scatter seeds 21 Third wife of Henry VIII 23 Leave slackjawed 24 Scout group 25 Hazy 27 Underclassman 30 Plugs 31 Music genre ©2016 PuzzleJunction.com 32 Welcome site 34 Court game 60 Completely 12 Devoured 35 Go up and 15 High rocky hill botch down 17 Frowns 61 Wish granter 36 Nettle 62 Dashboard abbr. 22 Hankering 38 B & B 23 Water collector 63 “Let it stand” 39 June honoree 25 Mustang 64 Business V.I.P. 40 Soft thin cloth 26 Crackers woven from 27 Old Testament Down raw silk book 1 Deli side 41 Bionic man 28 Alpha’s 2 Toothpaste 44 Antenna opposite holder 45 Great time 3 Building annex 29 “Bolero” 46 Variety of composer 4 Old masters chalcedony 30 Greek letter 5 Muscular 47 Idea 31 Pea jacket? 6 Dashed 51 Make tracks? 7 Cuts off 33 Driving need 52 Romania cash 35 Groceries 8 Learned, in a 55 Eye layer holder way 56 Listens in 9 Graduates 36 Oatmeal 59 Sound of 37 “Idylls of the 10 Faux pas laughter King” lady 11 Dancer’s dress
39 Sewing materials dealers 40 Mountain tops 42 Words to a jittery person 43 It’s found in banks 44 Green light 47 Trophy 48 Walkie-talkie word 49 Half-moon tide 50 Stretched tight 52 Kind of wolf 53 “Paradise Lost,” e.g. 54 Bring into play 57 Compete 58 Rover’s playmate?
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Solution
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