Earlier this month, Shaka King, Ryan Coogler and Warner Bros. delivered the first major Hollywood production spotlighting Black FBI informant William O'Neal and the assassination of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton. Guided by the performances of LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya, the film introduced a number of Americans to Hampton and the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. While there are definitely glimpses into Hampton's political ideologies throughout the film, it is impossible to tell the complete story of Hampton, O'Neal and the Black Panther Party in one feature film. For those interested in learning more about Hampton, the Black Panther Party and the FBI's quest to take it all down, here are a few resources to get you started.
Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution
Medium: Documentary Film
Provider: PBS
Synopsis: "Revisit the turbulent 1960s, when a revolutionary culture emerged with the Black Panther Party at its vanguard. Stanley Nelson tells the vibrant story of a pivotal movement that feels timely all over again."
Eyes On The Prize: Power!
Medium: Documentary Series
Provider: PBS
Synopsis: "Three decades since its premiere, the groundbreaking civil rights documentary, Eyes on the Prize I and II, returns to inform a new generation. The ordinary men and women whose extraordinary actions launched the civil rights movement kept their eyes on the prize, and by doing so, changed the fabric of American life."
The Murder of Fred Hampton
Medium: Documentary Film
Provider: Facets Multi-Media
Synopsis: "An unprecedented, historically significant documentary on the slain leader of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton, killed in 1969 by Chicago police while he slept in his apartment. Filmmakers Mike Gray and Howard Alk were already shooting a portrait of this charismatic speaker and community organizer when his murder occurred."
A Black Panther in the Great White North
Medium: Academic Prose
Provider: Michigan State University Press
Synopsis: "In November 1969, only a few weeks before he would be murdered by Chicago police, Fred Hampton, Deputy Chairman of the Chicago Chapter of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP), and two fellow Panthers visited the Regina Campus of the University of Saskatchewan. During his speech, Hampton announced to a crowd of between 600 and 700 people that 'the only difference between Canada and Chicago is that you’re a further north part of Babylon.'"
It's A Class Struggle
Medium: Speech
Provider: Fred Hampton
Synopsis: "'It's A Class Struggle' is a speech delivered by Fred Hampton at Northern Illinois University in November 1969."
No Justice, No Health: the Black Panther Party’s Fight for Health in Boston and Beyond
Medium: Academic Prose
Provider: Journal of African-American Studies
Synopsis: "The Black Panther Party (BPP) evolved from an organization focused on armed self-defense against police brutality to one that framed police violence as part of broader social violence. Protection meant advocating for a wide range of social and economic rights, including the right to health."
Who Killed Fred Hampton?
Medium: Podcast
Provider: Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Synopsis: The Black Panther Party For Self-defense was founded in Oakland, California in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. They originally wanted to protect local residents from police brutality. One prominent Black Panther activist, Fred Hampton, was killed during an FBI/Chicago Police Force raid on December 4th, 1969. Officially speaking, his death was an unfortunate accident. However, 50 years later multiple scholars, journalists and historians believe there’s more to the story.
The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther
Medium: Book
Provider: Jeffrey Hass
Synopsis: "The Assassination of Fred Hampton remains Haas's personal account of how he and People's Law Office partner Flint Taylor pursued Hampton's assassins, ultimately prevailing over unlimited government resources and FBI conspiracy. Not only a story of justice delivered, the book puts Hampton in the spotlight as a dynamic community leader and an inspiration for those in the ongoing fight against injustice and police brutality."
Black Media Archive
Medium: Soundbite
Provider: iHeartRadio
Synopsis: "Short speech and interview clips of Fred Hampton and Huey P. Newton as well as a description of the Panther's Ten Point Program."
The Assassination of Fred Hampton: New Documents Reveal Involvement of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover
Medium: News Segment
Provider: Democracy Now!
Synopsis: "Newly unearthed documents have shed new light on the FBI’s role in the murder of the 21-year-old Black Panther leader Fred Hampton on December 4, 1969, when Chicago police raided Hampton’s apartment and shot and killed him in his bed, along with fellow Black Panther leader Mark Clark. Authorities initially claimed the Panthers had opened fire on the police who were there to serve a search warrant for weapons, but evidence later emerged that told a very different story."
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