Shut down Chicago City Hall

Fred Hampton

A struggle has been going on in Chicago since mid-February about who will write the definitive history of the events of Dec. 4, 1969, the night of the military assault on 2337 W. Monroe that took the lives of Ill. Chairman Fred Hampton, pictured and Mark Clark of the Black Panther Party (BPP).

Will it be Superintendent Phil Cline and his thugs-in-blue who were responsible for the Massacre on Monroe? Or will it be the African-American community under the leadership of the Prisoners of Con science Committee? POCC Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. is leading a struggle to re-name that stretch of Monroe, “Hon orary Chairman Fred Hampton Way.”

Hampton says, “We’re calling for mass numbers of the people to come out and shut down City Hall (121 N. LaSalle) on Wednesday, March 29 at 10 a.m. Wear all-black. We’re calling on all communities—we commend the Latin@ community for the courageous stand they took over this whole HR 4437 issue last Friday [March 10]. ...

“It’s not just about the street signs. ... Once you start making the concrete connections, you know what I’m saying— you can’t talk about Chairman Fred without talking about the present incarceration of POCC Minister of Defense Aaron Patter son, who was locked down and beat up in the same courthouse that former Chair man of the BPP Bobby Seale was chained and gagged at, 38 years ago...

“Who we be? POCC! What’s our call? Free them all! Where we gonna be at March 29? City Hall!” The POCC can be reached by mail at: POCC, P.O. Box 368255, Chicago, IL 60636.

—Eric Struch