Fred Hampton and the Rainbow Coalition: A Man for a Revolution, a Revolution for the Many
By Vianny Rodriguez
Frederick Allen Hampton was an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime person whose full potential was cut short when he was assassinated by police on December 4, 1969. He had been targeted by the FBI COINTELPRO operation, a controversial program led by J. Edgar Hoover that sought to “destroy, disrupt and neutralize” alleged threats to national security (Haas, 2019, p. 177). The FBI saw the 21-year-old Black man from Chicago’s West Side building up a multiracial, intergroup, working-class movement as a threat to the status quo, and they had good reason to believe as much. In the three years he was most active with the Black Panther Party, Hampton masterfully coalesced the beginnings of a revolution that can still be felt today. He uplifted and empowered marginalized Chicago communities in a way never seen before or since. Hampton’s ability to galvanize people of all backgrounds through a common vision, his brilliance and capacity to absorb the influence of others, and his willingness to sacrifice himself and struggle for the people made him such an effective leader for change.
The ultimate proof of his ability to mobilize marginalized communities was the formation of the Rainbow Coalition. It was made up of the Black Panther Party, the Puerto Rican Young Lords, the Appalachian Southern white Young Patriots, other community organizations, and gangs. Though not altogether unprecedented, this unlikely coalition of diverse youths, supported by the greater Chicago community, was brought together by Hampton’s sincere desire to help them support their respective communities and accepted everyone as they were. He had even allowed the Young Patriots to keep the confederate flag as an emblem, a representation of their Southern culture, despite Young Lord leader Cha-Cha Jimenez’s disapproval (Serrato, 2021). His success in organizing and influencing all of these different people was, at its foundation, because he respected them, and they trusted him in return. Even though the Rainbow Coalition eventually disbanded, the “fearless grassroots, youth-driven, intersectional organizing” that it had established gave following generations of marginalized people a platform and a purpose (Serrato, 2021). Hampton was an effective leader because he gave people the tools and confidence to create positive change in their own communities, not just for the moment, but for years to come.
He inspired all sorts of people to action by convincing them the fight for justice mattered, and Hampton always practiced what he preached by leading the charge. As a teenager, he successfully demanded that the all-white administration at his school hire Black teachers and administrators to address the disparities in the treatment and neglect of the school’s Black students (Haas, 2019). When he was 17 years old, Don Williams, head of the West Suburban National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chapter, entrusted Hampton with starting and chairing its youth chapter (Haas, 2019). It was here that he began to showcase his magnetism and capabilities as a motivator by recruiting 500 youth to successfully advocate for an integrated community pool (Williams, 2013).
Hampton was as persistent as he was brilliant and very good at learning from others. He “read at least two hours before he faced the day,” studying Black political authors such as W.E.B. DuBois and Marcus Garvey. He went as far as memorizing the speeches of the two most influential men of the Civil Rights Movement – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X (Haas, 2019). Hampton’s constant reading made him acutely aware of the racial, financial, and health disparities, as well as the white supremacy, that plagued not only the United States but the international community at large. He began “[identifying] with the socialist struggles of the Third World” and read Che Guevara and Ho Chi Minh (Haas, 2019, p. 27). He began to see working-class Chicagoans’ struggle as a class struggle and his movement for true equality as a revolution. His intimate and vast knowledge of the works of others, paired with his plain language oratorical style, enabled him to reach the people. He spoke simply, but powerfully, and the people understood and would respond to his call to action. He used their support to make the Black Panther Party’s survival programs and community service initiatives successful by empowering and trusting community members to lead initiatives themselves. He also shared that knowledge and skills with others to take back to their own communities (Serrato, 2021).
Facing disciplinary action at school, his multiple arrests, and his tragic end are all evidence of Hampton’s willingness to sacrifice himself for the people. His supporters and community members followed his direction because he was always willing to be in the thick of the action and put himself on the line for their cause. This inclination was probably influenced by Malcolm X’s and Dr. King’s assassinations, two men he had admired and dedicated untold time studying. The sudden and brutal loss of such influential leaders, not just for himself, but the nation and movement as well, must have provided a moment of clarity. In one of his most powerful and prominent speeches at the “People’s Church” following his release from prison, Hampton spoke about dying for the cause. He maintained that not fighting for equality and justice for fear of death was death itself, and he was “going to be able to die doing the things that [he] was born for. [He believed he was] going to die high off the people” (Haas, 2019, p. 4). Hampton was murdered shortly thereafter, joining the long list of revolutionaries snuffed out for daring to struggle for the people.
Fred Hampton died, and the original Rainbow Coalition with him, but his ideology and passion had stubbornly and deeply changed the very heart of the city of Chicago. His free breakfast programs, successful through grassroots work and community support, were eventually institutionalized by the Federal Government in 1975 as the School Breakfast Program (Serrato, 2021). He organized the Spurgeon ‘Jake’ Winters Free People’s Medical Care Center with the expertise and connections of Quentin Young, MD, an established advocate for healthcare equity. The network of free clinics addressed the lack of healthcare for the poor Black people in Chicago. Despite not lasting long after his death, the true success of the clinics was creating visibility for Black underserved patients in the healthcare field and differed from similar initiatives by addressing both chronic and acute issues (Williams, 2013).
Hampton’s ability to galvanize the people, his capacity to absorb the influence of others, and his readiness to struggle for the people created a legacy still felt in Chicago today. His resounding message of solidarity and dedication led directly to many firsts for the city. Their combined and continued efforts led to an increase and strengthening of the BIPOC electorate and in 1983 the city of Chicago’s first Black mayor was elected, directly challenging “the Daley Machine” (Serrato, 2021). This was a challenge to the dominant powers that neglected marginalized Chicago communities, the status quo and patronage system that plagued Chicago politics for decades, systemic racism, and oppression. Many of the youth of the time went on to become activists, politicians, and educators such as Cha-Cha Jimenez, Bobby Rush, and Eugene Moore, continuing Hampton’s legacy and fight for equality. Their struggle laid the groundwork for Black political leaders such as former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and President Barack Obama. This was an echo, a very loud and proud echo, of all that Fred Hampton had stood for all his life. He believed racism could not be fought “with racism, but with solidarity” (Serrato, 2021). He did not just start a revolution, he built a powerful movement, passing on a key to liberation for generations to come.
References
Haas, J. (2019). The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther. Chicago Review Press.
Serrato, J. (2021, February 14). Fifty Years of Fred Hampton's Rainbow Coalition. South Side Weekly. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from https://southsideweekly.com/fifty-years-fred-hampton-rainbow-coalition-young-lords-black-panthers/
Williams, J. (2013). 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.
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