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- Notes:
- Bill Hampton is a former Chicago public school teacher and the brother of Fred Hampton, Deputy Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party who was murdered by a special police squad in an early morning raid on December 4, 1969. Bill Hampton grew up in Maywood, Illinois, where he organizes an annual commemoration event for his brother.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- David (pronounced "Daveed") Lemieux joined the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party in the spring of 1969. At age 16, he was the second youngest member of that Chapter. He was a "rank and file" member and functioned in all BPP activities including the Free Breakfast for Children Program and the dissemination of the Black Panther newspaper. As a member of the Education Cadre, he was constantly engaged with "speaking" the mission and purpose of the Black Panther Party. He remained active with the BPP into the early 70s. In 1982, after consultation with other members of the activist community, David joined the Chicago Police Department and began a 26 year career where he was able to use his office and authority as a vehicle to serve the people. Currently, David Lemieux gives seminars facilitated by Chicago's Black Star Project entitled "Keeping OUR children out of the 'Just US' System" and speaks locally and nationally on the role of peace officers serving the community through the justice system. He is active with the Chicago Black Panther History Project and other efforts committed to preservation, education and reclamation of the true history of our struggle.
- Date Created:
- 2012-07-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Billy “Che” Brooks is Deputy Minister of Education of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) and Director of YouthLAB@1521 through the Better Boys Foundation. In 1969, Mr. Brooks was very close to Chairman Fred Hampton who was the main spokesman of the Black Panther Party in Illinois. As one of the primary leaders of the BPP, Mr. Brooks was under constant, daily harassment by the Chicago Red Squad and Gang Intelligence Unit. He also worked closely with the Young Lords through the Rainbow Coalition.
- Date Created:
- 2012-03-28T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Iberia Hampton is the mother of murdered Illinois Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton, as well as Dee and Bill Hampton. Throughout her life she has been active within her church and the community. Along with Bill Hampton and the board, Mrs. Iberia Hampton is the primary organizer of the annual celebration of the Fred Hampton Scholarship Fund.
- Date Created:
- 2012-02-09T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Billy Dunbar is a member of the Chicago Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP). He is from the south side of Chicago. He keeps up with all the political events related to the BPP and the Rainbow Coalition, including the era of their origins. Mr. Dunbar is also a founding member of the Illinois BPP History Project, which is currently conducting oral histories to document the Chicago Chapter, so that the work of their members is not forgotten. Their project also wants the public to remember the impact that BPP Chairman Fred Hampton not only had on the African American community but on other communities of color and the poor. Mr. Dunbar is also a businessman. Today he owns a copy center.Chicago BPP Chairman Fred Hampton and BPP member Mark Clark were murdered in a predawn raid on December 4, 1969. Prior to his death, Mr. Hampton started a Rainbow Coalition, which was nurtured by Bobby Lee. The original members included the Young Patriots, a group of Hillbillies or southern whites from the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago of whom many had migrated from Appalachia and other southern areas, and the Young Lords from Lincoln Park. The Young Lords first met Fred Hampton at John Boelter’s and Ralph Rivera’s home and joined the Rainbow Coalition directly through Fred Hampton. Bobby Lee who was the BPP Field Marshall then began working more directly with José “Cha-Cha” Jiménez and the Young Lords in Lincoln Park.
- Date Created:
- 2012-07-15T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Melvin Lewis was born in Chicago but today lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina. His parents live in Maywood, Illinois. This is the same town where Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party (BPP) grew up. It is also where, at Maywood’s City Hall, there is a recreation center with a swimming pool named after the slain leader of Chicago’s BPP. There is also a street named “Fred Hampton Way” and a bust of Chairman Fred Hampton. Mr. Lewis is a Chicago Black Panther and freelance writer, a master gardener and certified beekeeper. His recent articles include “Out Loud and Into Print” in the May/June 2012 issue of City View (NC). He writes on music and his publications include features on “Hootie and the Blow Fish,” and singer and song writer “Rene Marie in Pluck!” He has written and broadcast twelve vignettes about civil rights for FM Radio stations 107.7 and 91.9 FM and conducted interviews on horticulture, history and art. Mr. Lewis has also won the Significant Illinois Poet Award and is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is currently assisting with the Chicago Black Panther History Project. Their motto is, “ We will tell our story, in our own words; Illinois Panthers speak for themselves.”
- Date Created:
- 2012-08-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Steven Sapp was born and raised in South Bronx, New York City. He earned his BA degree at Bard College and is married to Mildred Ruiz-Sapp of the Universes Theatre Ensemble. Together, Mr. Sapp and Ms. Ruiz-Sapp co-founded THE POINT, a community development corporation (Hunts Point) in 1993 and Universes, a New York-based theatre group that fuses poetry, jazz, hip hop, politics, blues and Spanish boleros to create its own productions which are performed on and off Broadway, nationally and internationally. Mr. Sapp has received numerous awards for his acting and has written, acted in, and directed scores of productions. One of his most recent productions is “Party People” (2012) which is primarily about the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords.
- Date Created:
- 2012-07-08T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Wanda Ross grew up in Chicago, the granddaughter of migrants from the southern United States. Shortly after she began college, she started attending political education classes taught by “Teach” of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPP). She joined the BPP shortly thereafter. She was chief developer of the BPP’s Breakfast for Children Program. The BPP Breakfast Program was used as a model by other organizations, including the Young Lords and Young Patriots. Ms. Ross remains a community activist in Chicago, putting into practice her reminder that “saving the world” is a lifetime commitment.
- Date Created:
- 2012-08-24T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
