December 5, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 194 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             PAYING TRIBUTE TO FRED HAMPTON AND MARK CLARK

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 4, 2019

  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the legacy of 
Fred Hampton.
  Mr. Hampton was only 21 years old when he was murdered by the Chicago 
Police Department and the FBI as he slept in his bedroom. The Chicago 
Police fired between 82 and 99 rounds into his apartment the night of 
his murder.
  Although we lost a powerful fighter for justice on December 4, 1969, 
Mr. Hampton's commitment to social, racial, and economic justice and 
his legacy of helping the disenfranchised did not die with him.
  Working predominately on the South and West Sides of Chicago, Mr. 
Hampton and the Black Panther Party provided free medical services and 
implemented a free lunch program that fed 4,000 children daily. These 
social programs were valuable resources to these underserved 
communities.
  The Black Panther Movement shed a spot light on the disparities 
between the races. Mr. Hampton understood that many of the social 
injustices stemmed from an unjust political system and fought hard to 
change it.
  Mr. Hampton's cruel murder was the catalyst for a political awakening 
that resulted in the unprecedented election of several African-American 
mayors like Harold Washington of Chicago in 1983; Wilson Goode of 
Philadelphia in 1984; Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore in 1988; and David 
Dinkins of New York City in 1989.
  Mr. Hampton was the champion for the disadvantaged and I am proud to 
honor his legacy.