We at Media Burn are saddened and horrified by the continued acts of violence against the Black community perpetrated by an unjust and rigged system. Our hearts go out to those grieving the loss of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, David McAtee and too many others.
We acknowledge that the change that needs to occur is within the institutions and minds of white Americans, including ourselves. We are relying on Black organizations and activists on the front lines of this struggle to lead the way and to provide guidance for the steps we need to take to create change.
It has always been our conviction that the path to social justice comes through empowering people to tell the stories that are not being told by official channels.
We showcase archival media by independent mediamakers who were able to use their cameras to capture the evidence needed to speak truth to power–as activists all over the world have been doing in the past days, weeks, months and years.
In 1969, Illinois Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton was murdered in his bed by a tactical unit of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in conjunction with the Chicago Police Department and the FBI. Authorities claimed that the police had been attacked by the Panthers and had only opened fire in self defense. Working with the Panthers, The Film Group, including Howard Alk, Mike Gray, and Chuck Olin, made The Murder of Fred Hampton, a film that documented the state-sponsored elimination of a 21-year-old visionary Black leader.
In the clip below, viewers can see Fred Hampton speaking in 1969 about being a freedom fighter.
| “You can jail a revolutionary, but you can’t jail the revolution” |
| We stand with those in the Black community working to create change, and are committed to listening. Please join us by reaching out and sharing any resources or media that we can help to amplify, both in the coming days and with an eye toward preserving the stories and experiences that future generations will use to understand our world. ************************************************************* Resources you can use to take action now: Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/ Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/ – a comprehensive platform of research-based policy solutions to end police brutality in America. Find your local bond fund and donate to help bail out protesters Here in Chicago: https://chicagobond.org/donate/ Anti-racism resources for white people and parents, compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein For Our White Friends Desiring to be Allies, by Courtney Ariel ************************************************************* For more Fred Hampton information: WGN-TV’s coverage on the 50th anniversary of Hampton’s assassination Jeff Haas, attorney for Hampton’s survivors won the $1.8 million settlement paid by the City of Chicago, Cook County and the federal government, wrote a book: The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther. Dr. Curtis Austin‘s TedX talk “Black Panthers White Lies” – On the Black Panther Party and American law enforcement watch scholar-activist Dr. Austin’s book: Up Against the Wall: Violence in the Making and Unmaking of the Black Panther Party. |
1 Comment
As a mother of three brown (Latina) orphans, I well know what it is like to be shunned… even by my own flesh and blood family who uses “passive aggression” as opposed to violence. It all sends a signal. CG