Fred Hampton
Day 22 of #BlackHistoryMonth Black Theory:
Fred Hampton
“What we're simply saying is that the leaders have to become more responsible and accountable for their actions. I'm saying that any program that's brought into our community should be analyzed by the people of that community. It should be analyzed. It should be analyzed to see that it meets the relevant needs of that community. I mean, honestly, people, we've got to face some facts, that the masses are poor. The masses belong to what you call the lower class. When I talk about the masses, I'm talking about the white masses. I'm talking about the black masses. I'm talking about the brown masses, and the yellow masses too. We've got to face the fact that some people say you fight fire best with fire. But we say you put out fires best with water. We say you don't fight racism with racism. We're going to fight racism with solidarity. We say you don't fight capitalism with no black capitalism. You fight capitalism with socialism. We ain't going to fight no reactionary pigs who run up and down the street being reactionary. We're going to organize, dedicate ourselves to the revolutionary political power and teach ourselves the specific needs of resisting the structure of that power. Arm ourselves. All right, we have to arm ourselves and we're going to fight reactionary pigs with the international proletarian revolution. Excuse me, let me say that one more time. I said we're going to fight reactionary pigs with the international proletarian revolution, that's what it's got to be. The people have to have the power. The people belong with the power.”
“How did he learn? He learned through practice. I say, how did he learn? He learned through practice. Say it with me. How did he learn? He learned through practice. I don't care how much theory you got, if you don't got any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to be irrelevant, right? Any theory you get, you practice it. When you practice, you make some mistakes. When you make some mistakes, you correct that theory. And now what you got? You got a corrected theory that will be able to be applied and used in any situation. That's what we've got to be able to do here.”
“We, the Black Panther Party because of our dedication and understanding went into the valley knowing that the people are here in the valley, knowing that our plight is the same plight as the people in the valley, knowing that our enemies on the mountain and our friends are in the valley. And even though it's nice to be on the mountaintop, we're going to go back to the valley because we understand that there's work to be done in the valley. And when we get through with this work in the valley, we're going to go to that mountaintop. We're going to go to that mountaintop because there's a motherfucker on that mountaintop that's playing king. And he's been bullshitting us. And we've got to go on that mountaintop, not for the purpose of living like he lives, living his lifestyle. That's not it. We got to go up on that mountain to make that motherfucker understand that, goddammit, we are coming from the valley.”
“Changing your name is not gonna change our set of arrangements. The only thing that’s gonna change our set of arrangements is what’s gotten us into this set of arrangements. And that’s the oppressor. And it’s on three stages, we call it the three-in-one: avaricious, greedy businessmen; demagogic, lyin’ politicians; and racist, pig fascist, reactionary cops. Until you deal with those three tings, then your set of arrangements will remain the same. The only difference will be that you’re still under fascism, but instead of Fred being under fascism, I’ll be Oogabooga under fascism. But I’ll feel the same….And the only way that the liberation of the oppressed people Vietnam or the oppressed people of Babylon’s freedom can be founded, it has to be founded on the land that is fertilized by the bones and blood of these aggressive pig dogs that come into our communities and occupy our communities like troops occupy a foreign territory and go into Vietnam and fight and struggle relentlessly against the people in Vietnam to have a right to self-determination. We don’t care whether anybody likes it or not. That’s our line. It’s a Marxist-Leninist line. It’s consistent. It’s going to remain that way, and it’s been that way….We say that if you dare to struggle, than you dare to win. If you dare not to struggle you don’t deserve to win. We wouldn’t go into the ring with Muhammad Ali and not fight and wonder why we lost, would we? If you don’t fight, then you don’t deserve to win. If you don’t move on these fascists, then you’re crazy. We say it’s no longer a question of violence or non-violence. We say it’s a question of resistance to fascism or non-existence within fascism.” It's A Class Struggle Goddammit!, Nothern Illinois University, November, 1969
What we’re saying is that there are white people, in the mother country, that are for the same types of things that we are for – stimulating revolution in the mother country. And we said that we would work with anybody, form coalitions with anybody, that has revolution on their mind. We’re not a racist organization because we understand that racism is an excuse used for capitalism, and we know that racism is a by-product of capitalism. Everything would be alright if everything was put back in the hands of the people, and we’re gon’ have to put it back in the hands of the people” Revolution and Racism
“You have to understand that people have to pay the price for peace. If you dare to struggle, you dare to win. If you dare not struggle then goddamnit you don’t deserve to win. Let me say peace to you if you’re willing to fight for it….I believe that I’m going to be able to die doing the things I was born for. I believe that I’m going be able to die high off the people. I believe that I will be able to die as a revolutionary in the international revolutionary proletarian struggle. And I hope that each one of you will be able to die in the international proletarian revolutionary struggle or you’ll be able to live in it. And I think that struggle’s going to come. Why don’t you live for the people? Why don’t you struggle for the people? Why don’t you die for the people?” Untitled (Why don’t you die for the people?)
Links:
Speeches:
https://www.rev.com/transcripts/fred-hampton-speech-transcript-on-revolution-and-racism
https://www.lfks.net/en/content/fred-hampton-its-class-struggle-goddammit-november-1969
https://www.liberationschool.org/fred-hampton-on-revolution-and-racism/
https://www.marxists.org/archive/hampton/misc/why-dont-you-die-for-the-people.htm
https://www.marxists.org/archive/hampton/
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXhIbEjXEag