Letters from Tomis

My Socialist Hall of Fame

During this chaotic era of vile rhetoric and manipulative tactics from our so-called bourgeois leaders, I am invigorated by the opportunity to reflect on Socialists, Revolutionaries, Philosophers, Guerrilla Leaders, Partisans, and Critical Theory titans, champions, and martyrs who paved the way for us—my own audacious “Socialism’s Hall of Fame.” These are my heroes and fore-bearers. Not all are perfect, or even fully admirable, but all contributed in some way to our future–either as icons to emulate, or as warnings to avoid in the future.

Introduction

Fred Hampton was a charismatic African American revolutionary and a leading figure in the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP) during the late 1960s. His political work—anchored in Marxist-Leninist thought and the struggle for Black liberation—placed him at the center of a transformative moment in American radical politics. Hampton’s short life, tragically cut short by a U.S. government-sanctioned assassination at the age of 21, has made him an enduring symbol of anti-racist resistance and working-class solidarity. His theoretical clarity, organizing capacity, and coalition-building strategies continue to influence revolutionary movements across the globe.

Early Life and Education

Fred Hampton was born in a working-class Black family in suburban Chicago. His parents had migrated from Louisiana during the Great Migration, and his early environment was shaped by the racial segregation and economic inequality endemic to postwar America. A bright student, Hampton excelled academically and athletically at Proviso East High School and aspired to study law in order to fight against police brutality and institutional racism.

While attending Triton Junior College with the intention of entering law school, Hampton became deeply involved in civil rights work, initially through the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He organized youth programs in Maywood, Illinois, advocating for better recreational facilities and access to education for Black children. These early experiences sharpened his political consciousness and led him toward more radical politics.

Radicalization and the Black Panther Party

Hampton joined the Black Panther Party in 1968 and quickly rose to become chairman of its Illinois chapter. He was deeply influenced by Marxist-Leninist theory, particularly the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and Frantz Fanon, as well as Malcolm X and Mao Zedong. Hampton understood the struggle for Black liberation as inseparable from the struggle against capitalism and imperialism.

Under his leadership, the Chicago Panthers launched numerous community-based programs, including free breakfast for children, health clinics, political education classes, and transportation for families visiting prisoners. Hampton was committed to what he called “revolutionary intercommunalism,” drawing from Huey Newton’s theory that the fight for freedom must transcend race and nationality to unite oppressed peoples globally against imperialism.

Hampton’s most remarkable achievement was the creation of the Rainbow Coalition—a political alliance between the BPP, the Puerto Rican Young Lords, the poor white Young Patriots Organization, and other marginalized groups. This multiracial, anti-capitalist coalition directly challenged the racial and class divisions exploited by the capitalist state. It was also an existential threat to the established order, which viewed Hampton’s cross-racial organizing as particularly dangerous.

Theory, Practice, and Political Vision

Fred Hampton’s theoretical contributions, though largely oral and preserved through speeches, reflect a deeply dialectical and materialist understanding of race and class struggle. He consistently rejected liberal integrationist politics, arguing instead for revolutionary change through the seizure of state power by the oppressed. Hampton famously declared:

“We don’t fight fire with fire. We fight fire with water. We’re gonna fight racism not with racism but with solidarity. We’re gonna fight capitalism with socialism.”

His use of “solidarity” as an organizing principle extended beyond rhetoric: he insisted that revolutionary power must come from the people, and thus required extensive political education and mass participation. The BPP under his direction initiated political training and ideological study sessions grounded in Marxist principles, helping to politicize thousands of working-class youth across racial lines.

Unlike liberal activists who focused on civil rights within existing institutions, Hampton insisted that liberation required revolutionary socialism—the overthrow of capitalist structures, not merely reform. His practical politics integrated community survival programs with revolutionary theory, making him not just a militant but an astute strategist of grassroots power.

Surveillance and Assassination

Hampton’s growing influence drew the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and its COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program), which explicitly aimed to “prevent the rise of a Black messiah” who could unify and radicalize the Black liberation movement. COINTELPRO operatives infiltrated the Chicago BPP and closely monitored Hampton’s activities.

On December 4, 1969, in a predawn raid, Hampton was assassinated by the Chicago Police Department in a joint operation with the FBI. He was shot multiple times while asleep in his bed next to his pregnant partner, Akua Njeri (formerly Deborah Johnson). Another Panther, Mark Clark, was also killed. Subsequent investigations revealed that the raid had been planned based on intelligence provided by FBI informant William O’Neal, who had infiltrated Hampton’s inner circle and provided a floor plan of the apartment.

The murder of Fred Hampton was widely condemned and later exposed as a political assassination, not a legitimate law enforcement action. Though a wrongful death lawsuit was eventually settled by the federal government, the deeper issue of state violence against Black radicals remains unresolved. Hampton’s killing exemplified the lengths to which the capitalist state would go to suppress revolutionary organizing.

Legacy and Influence

Fred Hampton’s legacy is vast and enduring. He has become an icon of Black radicalism and working-class internationalism. His image and words continue to inspire anti-racist and anti-capitalist struggles around the world. In recent years, interest in Hampton has surged with the release of the Oscar-winning film Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), which brought his story to a wider audience and reignited debates around police violence and systemic racism.

Contemporary movements like Black Lives Matter draw explicitly from Hampton’s legacy, particularly in their emphasis on community programs, political education, and grassroots leadership. His insistence on cross-racial solidarity has found resonance in coalitions uniting movements for racial justice, labor rights, and immigrant protection.

Academically, Hampton is increasingly recognized not just as a militant or activist, but as a Marxist theorist in action. His speeches reflect a rigorous understanding of class struggle, colonialism, and dialectics, though he never published formal theoretical texts. He remains an essential figure in the study of Black Marxism, revolutionary socialism, and the Black radical tradition.

Conclusion

Fred Hampton stands among the most important revolutionary leaders in American history. He synthesized Marxist theory, Black liberation politics, and pragmatic community organizing into a dynamic strategy for collective emancipation. His murder at the hands of the state reveals the threat he posed to racial capitalism—and the revolutionary potential he embodied. As both a symbol and a strategist, Hampton continues to speak to the necessity of a world beyond exploitation, where the power of the people determines the course of history.

Select Bibliography

• Haas, Jeffrey. The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther. Chicago Review Press, 2010.

• Williams, Jakobi. From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago. University of North Carolina Press, 2013.

• Hilliard, David, and Lewis Cole. This Side of Glory: The Autobiography of David Hilliard and the Story of the Black Panther Party. Little, Brown, 1993.

• Newton, Huey P. To Die for the People: The Writings of Huey P. Newton. Random House, 1972.

• Bloom, Joshua, and Waldo E. Martin Jr. Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party. University of California Press, 2013.

• Fanon, Frantz. The Wretched of the Earth. Grove Press, 1963.

• Churchill, Ward, and Jim Vander Wall. Agents of Repression: The FBI’s Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement. South End Press, 1988.

• Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta. From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation. Haymarket Books, 2016.

• Marable, Manning. Race, Reform, and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction and Beyond in Black America, 1945–2006. University Press of Mississippi, 2007.