Fred Hampton was murdered in his bed in the middle of the night on this date. He was 21. Growing up, he wanted to play centerfield for the Yankees. His bravery and honesty and the truth led him on his short-lived course away from the ball field.

Fred Hampton was a powerful and eloquent speaker.

He said, “You can jail the revolutionary but you can’t jail the revolution. You might murder a freedom fighter like Bobby Hutton, but you can’t murder freedom fighting.”[1]

He died without the time to say, “I told you so.” He was so young. He surely died knowing that truth was on his side.




Dig It! [2]

Honesty and bravery seek balance points along the way
Truth is the fulcrum that can only rest on evidence

History is fallible
Scribbled down by people heavy with agendas

Find the fulcrum and start digging

Hidden by detritus among blooded cores of dates and facts
Lies the buried records of every honest act and brave risk against deception
Heroes are the selfless ones
Leaders are appointed

Know them by the stains anointing them
Know the murderer
Know the victim


Image: Fred Hampton[3] (8/30/48-12/4/69) was a revolutionary and the deputy chairman for the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. He said, “There’s no forgone conclusion with me.”

[1] Listen to Fred Hampton at: http://kboo.fm/media/54264-murder-fred-hamptonwords-fred-hampton-jr
[2] ©Tim Brown 2016, “North Star to Heaven”
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fred_Hampton.jpg w/ apologies to unknown author, used without permission; “It is believed that the use of this image may qualify as fair use under United States copyright law.”