Descriptions:
The Film Group’s The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971) was photochemically preserved in 2017 by the UCLA Film and Television Archive, using elements deposited in their archive soon after Mike Gray’s passing in 2013. In 2019, CFA, in cooperation with UCLA, produced another 35mm preservation print of this remarkable film, now housed in our collection.
Originally going into production with the working title Black Panther, the filmmakers intended to cover the rise of the Black Panther Party’s Illinois chapter, with a focus on its charismatic leader, Fred Hampton. In the middle of production, the trajectory of the film pivoted quickly when, in the early dawn of December 4, 1969, at the direction of Cook County State’s Attorney Edward V. Hanrahan, officers raided Hampton’s apartment on Chicago’s west side, murdering Hampton and fellow Panther Mark Clark in their sleep. After Hampton was assassinated, the film suddenly became a two-part document of a stillborn revolutionary moment. The first half is an affecting portrait of Hampton; the leader is captured delivering speeches on social revolt and racism before large, rapturous crowds. The second part becomes an audacious piece of investigative journalism, making a compelling case that the police intentionally murdered Hampton, since they feared his oratorical power more than anything.
