Fred Hampton, 1948-1969, When One of Us Falls, 1000 Will Take His Place

Object Details

Artist

Unidentified Artist

Sitter

Fred Hampton, 1948 - 1969

Exhibition Label

Fred Hampton (1948–1969) was the deputy chair of the Black Panther Party, rising to this position after years of organizing with the NAACP. His political career demonstrates the splits that were occurring in the civil rights movement as the NAACP’s focus on integration, legal challenges, and nonviolent moral persuasion fell out of favor with a younger generation. Charismatic and effective, Hampton drew the attention of the FBI as a “key militant.” In the late 1960s, the FBI began a campaign to destabilize the Black Panthers and killed Hampton while he was sleeping during a raid. Although the FBI officers in charge were never prosecuted, after thirteen years of litigation Hampton’s family won an appeal and achieved a civil rights settlement in a landmark case. Nevertheless, after Hampton’s murder, the inability to produce another leader with the same energy and intelligence of Hampton led to the party’s demise in the 1970s.

Fred Hampton (1948–1969) llegó a ser portavoz del Partido Panteras Negras luego de años de militancia con la NAACP (Asociación Nacional para el Progreso de las Personas de Color). Su carrera política evidencia las rupturas que se dieron dentro del movimiento pro derechos civiles cuando la generación joven empezó a rechazar elementos de la NAACP como el énfasis en la integración, los pleitos legales y las tácticas de persuasión moral sin violencia. Carismático y eficiente, Hampton estaba en la mira del FBI como “militante clave”. A fines de la década de 1960, el FBI inició una campaña para desestabilizar a los Panteras Negras y durante una redada asesinó a Hampton mientras dormía. Aunque los oficiales a cargo de la operación nunca fueron enjuiciados, al cabo de trece años de litigación la familia de Hampton ganó una demanda por violación de derechos civiles que marcó un hito histórico. Sin embargo, luego de la muerte de Hampton el partido no logró producir otro líder con su misma energía e inteligencia, lo cual condujo a su desintegración en la década de 1970.

Credit Line

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

c. 1969

Object number

NPG.2015.112

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Print

Medium

Chromolithographic poster print on paper

Dimensions

Sheet: 56.5 × 42.8 cm (22 1/4 × 16 7/8")

See more items in

National Portrait Gallery Collection

Location

Currently not on view

National Portrait Gallery

Topic

Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses

Poster

Commemorative

Human Figures\Corpse

Fred Hampton: Male

Fred Hampton: Social Welfare and Reform\Reformer\Social reformer\Civil rights activist

Portrait

Record ID

npg_NPG.2015.112

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4c13dc970-583a-439b-b20b-01cc599e4f11