fred hampton and the deaths of ferguson activists

The relationship history has with domination is that it attempts to erase it. Domination tries to make it seem as though the current terrors are unprecedented. This sustains the doom and hysteria, which often results in a stagnation born of fear. When it was revealed that in 2017 Black organizers were being targeted — based on the idea that Black folks whom official reports referred to as Black Identity Extremists were perpetrating acts of terror inspired by beliefs around their Blackness — the response could be disgust, but it should not be shock

Today is the anniversary of the death of Fred Hampton. Hampton was a gifted organizer and orator, serving as the deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party. On this day in 1969, Fred Hampton was killed in his home by the FBI, due to the illegal counter-intelligence program called COINTELPRO.

When we revisit the idea of the FBI enacting policies that mark certain Black people as “Black Identity Extremists,” and thread this with the disturbing, unsolved deaths of Ferguson activists, we realize this haunted house is not new. It is, in fact, ancient, and knowing the history of its terror is the only way to exorcise this haunted country from the demons that are surely hell-bent on annihilating any redeemable quality this nation has left.

And our commitment to transformation, resistance and truth-telling must be just as consistent and ever changing as the domination we wish to transcend. Above all else, we must remember our history, even the bloodied pages.