Murder of Fred Hampton, reel 1

Documentary about the death of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party. The film started out as a simple portrait of Hampton and features lots of footage of his powerful speeches. However, in 1969, Hampton was murdered in his bed at the Panther headquarters by the Chicago police. The event was extremely controversial as the police and the Black Panthers told drastically different versions of the events. The film became instrumental in proving the Panthers' story that the police broke in to headquarters without warning and killed Hampton without resistance.

0:00Copy video clip URL Count-in.

0:15Copy video clip URL Police officer talks about finding Hampton’s body in his apartment and demonstrates on a model of Hampton’s apartment.

0:50Copy video clip URL A man sifts through the bloody and destroyed objects in Hampton’s apartment.

1:28Copy video clip URL Fred Hampton introduces himself to crowd, and opening title. Hampton talks to a crowd at a local church about Black Panther issues. He introduces Chairman Bobby Seale.

3:30Copy video clip URL Bobby Seale talks to audience. “Power is the ability to define phenomona and make it act in a desired manner.” “When the pigs is wrong, you whip your guns out, you blow him away. And you have the ability, you have the organization to make that pig act in a desired manner.”

5:30Copy video clip URL Rennie Davis speaks to a crowd in Chicago about Bobby Seale being bound and gagged in court.

6:20Copy video clip URL Seale talks to Black Panther crowd. He talks about a unification of all racial organizations against the pigs.

7:13Copy video clip URL Hampton speaks at same rally as Rennie Davis, and he talks about taking up weapons until the opposition understands what peace is. “You can jail revolutionaries, but you can’t jail a revolution.” “You might murder a freedom fighter like Bobby Hutton, but you can’t murder freedom fighting.” “Nothing’s more important than seeing about fascism, cause fascism will see about us all.”

8:45Copy video clip URL Rennie Davis speaks to crowd more about injustices to Seale, and the importance of stopping the Chicago trial.

9:20Copy video clip URL Hampton talks to church crowd about working with whites: “Racism is just a by-product of capitalism.”

10:20Copy video clip URL Black Panthers give a free breakfast to neighborhood kids.

12:00Copy video clip URL Panther and non-Panther: Another organization shows their plan to Chairman Fred. Some men talk to Chairman Fred about working along with the Panthers. Hampton insists on the presence of an educational program. Hampton also cautions against a Credit Union, especially without education, because it still reinforces capitalism. “Without education you’ve got neo-colonialism instead of colonialism.” He cautions against “Negro imperialists.”

16:14Copy video clip URL Hampton talks to a crowd speaks emotionally against people who come into neighborhood without best interests of neighborhood at heart.

16:45Copy video clip URL Shots of slum neighborhoods while a voice-over talks about the Medical Center: “A result of the basic need in the black community for a free radical service.” Says most doctors are interested in “private wealth over public health.”

17:45Copy video clip URL A nurse and doctor work with patients in the center. Bobby Seale and administrators talk about scheduling doctors to work.

19:00Copy video clip URL Doc Satchel talks about the medical center resource file, which can refer people with problems that go beyond physical ailments.

19:37Copy video clip URL Fred Hampton talks to church crowd and introduces Bobby Rush. “Ain’t nobody goin’nowhere. We’re gonna stay right here with the people.” Hampton talks about police attempts to put him in jail for stealing 710 ice-cream bars. He says that the police story was that he beat up an ice-cream truck driver who came into the neighborhood and gave the ice cream to kids. “Even though they make me a thief, they make me a Robin Hood type thief.” He introduces Bobby Rush.

22:24Copy video clip URL Rush talks about not taking trouble from the police. “Get up against the wall, motherfucker, cause this is a holdup, and we came to get what’s ours.”

23:05Copy video clip URL Fred Hampton talks about an upcoming march and jokingly has the audience chant “Free Fred!”

23:43Copy video clip URL Fred Hampton does a mock trial for his upcoming ice-cream-robbery trial. He practices bringing up Panther philosophy in his defense. Hampton practices his closing statement, pledging to blow the police’s brains out if they harm the people.” They want to keep you believing that I’m your enemy. And anyone else who’s black or has a lot of hair on his head’s your enemy. Why? Because if you stopped being racist and used some logic, you’d have nobody for an enemy except Hanrahan.”

31:51Copy video clip URL A group of people cheer to free Huey Newton. Bobby Seale talks to the audience about not knowing where Fred Hampton is. He yells at the police, and tells the people to go home. “And if we can’t find Fred, we’ll give y’all a call.”

33:48Copy video clip URL Fred Hampton and other Panthers at headquarters get their artillery and prepare for a charge they’ve heard will be coming from Hanrahan. Hampton voices over his commitment to the cause. He talks about the necessity of an armed struggle to set up a socialistic state, then a communist state, and says he’s not afraid of dying. The panthers talk about a plan of defense against the expected police charge.

39:22Copy video clip URL Hampton talks to crowd about keeping police out of the neighborhood. “I got my gun, motherfucker, and you got yours.”

40:00Copy video clip URL “The Ice Cream Trial.”  The mock trial finds Hampton not guilty.

40:24Copy video clip URL Bobby Seale makes a press statement saying the Chairman Fred has been put in prison for 2-5 years.

40:35Copy video clip URL Voice-over narrator mentions that after Hampton was put in prison, Panther headquarters were invaded and destroyed. Shots of the destroyed headquarters. On soundtrack, crowd sings “Piggy Wiggly, ohhh you gotta go now. Oink Oink-Bang Bang-Dead Pig” to the tune of “Louie, Louie.”

42:15Copy video clip URL Panthers outside headquarters talk to the news about the police invasion, and the police setting fire to the building. Some Panthers read through a news article about the attack.

44:18Copy video clip URL Seale talks to press about keeping up the fight and not taking anymore police harrassment.

44:40Copy video clip URL People in church sing “Free Fred Hampton.”

45:12Copy video clip URL Doc Satchell talks to rally crowd about keeping up the fight in the absence of Hampton.

46:35Copy video clip URL People march in church and sing “People Get Ready.”

47:00Copy video clip URL Shots of penitentiary where Hampton is being kept with voice-over of Hampton talking about “being high on the people” while in prison. “I have to get on my knees and learn from the people, I have to put my ear to the ground, and when I put my ear to the ground, I hear the people.” Hampton leads the crowd in a chant of, “Oh I’m high.”  On August 13 Chairman Fred is released on bail.

48:45Copy video clip URL Hampton talks to church crowd. “Even though it’s nice on the mountaintop, we’re going back to the streets.” “Ain’t no thing about going nowhere, getting killed.” Chairman Fred leads the audience in a pledge towards the party. “Nobody goes. We all stay right here. With the people. Because we love the people. All power to all people. White power to white people. Brown power to brown people. Yellow power to yellow people. Black power to black people… I am a revolutionary.”

51:40Copy video clip URL Shots of Hampton’s bloodied apartment, police cleaning up the scene of the crime.

53:00Copy video clip URL Hampton’s funeral. Hampton’s coffin is brought into the church. Seale speaks to the crowd. “We could mourn today. But if we understood Fred, then we are dedicated that his life wasn’t given in vain, then there will be no more mournings tomorrow. That all our sorrow will turn into action.”

53:55Copy video clip URL State’s Attorney Edward V. Hanrahan speaks against the Panthers. A TV Report based on Hanrahan’s report.

55:00Copy video clip URL People line up to tour Hampton’s apartment. Attorney Skip Andrew says, “What they didn’t understand… is you can’t kill Chairman Fred. Anyone who would try to kill him is and will ever be an enemy of the people… And any person who would do that could not be considered a person, but a pig.”

56:00Copy video clip URL Hampton in his coffin. Bobby Seale talks to a crowd: “You have to make up your own minds what’s true, whether it was murder.”

56:20Copy video clip URL A police officer walks the TV news through a mock-up of the apartment. The police give their side of the story, taking time with the entrance. Hanrahan says police announced officer, and shotgun fire from inside immediately commenced. Hanrahan says the only response to the police officers was the firing of a shotgun from inside the apartment. A police officer walks through and explains being shot at by a woman on the bed.

58:48Copy video clip URL Brenda Harris, who supposedly fired a shot at the officer, says she didn’t.

58:05Copy video clip URL Another black officer talks about firing at and killing one of the Panthers.

59:40Copy video clip URL The Panthers show there’s no evidence of any firing on behalf of the Panthers. Hanrahan insists the police were fired on. The Panthers show that there are no bullet holes to show any shots being fired from inside. Panthers attorney Andrew shows the panel of the Panthers door. Defense says the panel is probably fake. Andrews walks camera crew through apartment showing evidence. Some tracking problems by the very end, and tape ends abruptly.

1:02:46Copy video clip URL End of tape.