Feb. 8, 2026

Fred Hampton — When The State Feared A Black Man

A 21-year-old organizer taught a city how to feed children, build trust, and link struggles across race and class—and power answered with a hundred rounds. We revisit Fred Hampton’s short life and long echo, focusing on the programs he built, the alliances he forged, and the state machinery that moved to silence a rising voice. This is not a story about celebrity politics; it’s a story about breakfast lines, study groups, and a calm, disciplined kind of courage that turns neighbors into a movement.

We walk through Hampton’s leadership in the Illinois Black Panther Party, where community survival programs weren’t side projects but the plan itself. Free breakfasts, clinics, and legal aid turned ideals into routines people could count on. From there we dig into the Rainbow Coalition—an audacious partnership among Black, Latino, and white working-class communities united by shared battles over housing, wages, and policing. That kind of solidarity stripped away scapegoats and reframed the real conflict as people versus exploitation, not neighbor versus neighbor.

We also face the architecture of suppression. Under J. Edgar Hoover, COINTELPRO targeted effective organizers with surveillance, informants, and disinformation. The 1969 pre-dawn raid that killed Hampton exposed how narratives are shaped to justify force, and how evidence later challenged the official account of a “shootout.” Beyond the facts of the raid lies the enduring blueprint Hampton left behind: mutual aid as public safety, political education as empowerment, and coalition as strategy rather than slogan. If you care about social justice, civic power, or how communities protect and provide for themselves, this conversation offers clarity and resolve.

Subscribe, share with a friend who values history that speaks to the present, and leave a review to help more listeners find these stories. What kind of coalition could you start on your block this week?

DON'T FORGET TO RATE, COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE

JOIN ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY FOLLOWING THE LINKTREE

Follow Our Family Of True Crime Shows

The year I spent defending my best friend. The TRUTH is HERE

We Are Not Afraid Podcast

Extinguished With David McClam & LaDonna Humphrey

Musical Album

The Witch Hunt Of Lanny Hughes

Cover Art and Logo created by Diana of Other Worldly

Sound Mixing and editing by David McClam

Intro script by Sophie Wild From Fiverr & David McClam

Intro and outro jingle by Jacqueline G. (JacquieVoice) From Fiverr

Chapters

00:00 - Welcome And Mental Health Note

01:06 - Black History Fact #8 Announced

01:16 - Fred Hampton’s Organizing And Impact

02:08 - COINTELPRO And The Raid

03:19 - Legacy, Misconceptions, And Coalition

05:36 - Closing Credits And Listener Support

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:08.560
Welcome to True Crime, authors and extraordinary people.

00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:12.400
The podcast where we bring two passions together.

00:00:12.560 --> 00:00:18.399
The show that gives new meaning to the old adage, truth is stranger than fiction.

00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:23.199
And reminding you that there is an extraordinary person in all of us.

00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:25.600
Here is your host, David McClam.

00:00:25.839 --> 00:00:26.559
What's going on, everybody?

00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:31.920
Welcome to another episode of True Crime, Authors of Extraordinary People, Black History Month Fact Edition.

00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:34.640
Of course, I'm your man, David McClam.

00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:38.159
If you guys haven't already, make sure you follow us on all of our social media.

00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:44.079
One link to a link tree will get you every place you need to go pertaining to the show.

00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:53.679
And like I always like to remind you, if you are someone or you know someone who feels like hurting yourself or someone else, please leave this episode in dial 988.

00:00:54.079 --> 00:00:58.560
It is the suicide prevention hotline that can get you the help that you need.

00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:06.239
And in case no one else has told you this today, let me be the first to tell you I do care and I need you to be here.

00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:09.040
There is nothing worth your life.

00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:15.599
Well, all right, if you are keeping up to the date, this is Black History Fact Number Eight.

00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:22.959
Today, we're gonna talk about Fred Hampton when the state feared a young black man.

00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:28.799
Fred Hampton was 21 years old when the state decided he was too dangerous to live.

00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:34.560
He was charismatic, intelligent, disciplined, and politically astute.

00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:47.439
As chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, Hampton organized community programs that fed children, educated residents, and built alliances across racial lines.

00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:50.959
That last part terrified the government.

00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:56.319
Hampton understood that poverty was not a black problem, it was a systemic one.

00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:05.920
He built what became known as the Rainbow Coalition uniting black, Latino, and white working class groups around shared economic injustice.

00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:08.240
The FBI took notice.

00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:09.120
Under J.

00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:19.680
Edgar Hoover, the FBI launched COINTELPRO, a covert program designed to disrupt, discredit, and destroy civil rights organizations.

00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:27.439
Fred Hampton was identified as a major threat, not because he was violent, but because he was effective.

00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:33.759
In December 1969, Chicago police raided Hampton's apartment in the early morning hours.

00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:39.680
Hampton had been drugged by an informant the night before and was unconscious during the raid.

00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:43.280
Police fired nearly 100 rounds.

00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:46.639
Hampton was shot twice in the head at point blank range.

00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:49.280
Authorities initially claimed a shootout.

00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:55.919
Evidence later showed almost all gunfire came from police, and the raid was an execution.

00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:58.240
No officers were convicted.

00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:01.199
Fred Hampton never reached adulthood.

00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:04.400
He never saw the long-term impact of his organizing.

00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:11.759
But his ideas, coalition, solidarity, and mutual aid continued to resonate.

00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:19.599
The state feared Fred Hampton because he showed people how to organize beyond fear.

00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:22.719
Now everybody can dispute me, but we've always said that the J.

00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:26.879
Edgar Hoover era of the FBI was racist, and it was very racist.

00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:31.919
Not only did they go up to Fred Hampton, but they also went up to people that you well know, like Martin Luther King Jr.

00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:34.639
That's why a lot of things came about Martin Luther King Jr.

00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:38.479
I think Martin Luther King even fell into some of this COINTELPRO.

00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:51.919
This is why it's been widely stated that he was set up when he was assassinated, and JFK's name was in that too, because anyone that opposed what Jay Egar Hoover and the world at that time stood for, he went after.

00:03:52.080 --> 00:04:00.639
And when it came to young black organizers or black people trying to do things peacefully, or black people to oppose him, Jay Garhoover didn't like that.

00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:05.840
And I know that the Black Panther Party name's in here, but I don't got time to get all into it.

00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:08.159
But do your research in the Black Panther Party.

00:04:08.319 --> 00:04:12.240
The Black Panther Party was never put together to be violent.

00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:14.400
They were put together to help out.

00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:21.759
And yes, over the years, I know Black Panther Party's come up, they put bounties on people's heads and they decided they're gonna go after people.

00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:22.560
I get all of that.

00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:24.319
But look at the circumstance that was.

00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:33.040
Not that it makes it any better or worse or worse, but the fact I'm trying to make is a lot of these groups that was made back then was not made for violence.

00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:34.720
They weren't made to be gangs.

00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:39.040
They were made to be organizations to help not only black people, but other people too as well.

00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:48.399
You've heard of the Rainbow Coalition before, but you've probably never heard Fred Hamden's name attached to that because you've always heard about the Rainbow Coalition and Jesse Jackson.

00:04:48.639 --> 00:05:04.879
So a lot of people do not know that a 21-year-old was the one that built and made the Rainbow Coalition Party that tried to help all of us unite across the working board, like Latinos and whites together.

00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:14.399
So there you have a little piece about Fred Hampton, 21-year-old taking out too soon because the government was too scared of what he would do.

00:05:14.639 --> 00:05:34.560
Fred Hampton would have, and in my opinion, he has indeed changed the world because a lot of the things that Fred Hampton did, a lot of the people that Fred Hampton trained, and a lot of the things that Fred Hampton organized, if you look deeply, is still rooted today in America.

00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:37.839
Alright, guys, thank you for joining us today.

00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:40.480
I know you have meaty choices in the True Crime Interview Podcast.

00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:43.040
I am grateful that I am one of your choices.

00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:48.079
You have been listening to the only three fashioned podcasts of its kind.

00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:50.959
Be good to yourself and each other.

00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:54.480
And always remember, always stay humbled.

00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:57.439
An act of kindness can make someone's day.

00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:00.480
A little love and compassion can go a long way.

00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:04.959
And remember that there is an extraordinary person in all of us.

00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:07.759
I'll catch you guys on the next one.

00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.079
Don't forget to rate, comment, and subscribe.

00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:15.839
Join us on social media.

00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:18.240
One link to the Link Tree has it all.

00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:23.360
Feel free to drop us a line at TrueCrime and Authors at gmail.com.

00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:26.240
Sound mixing and editing by David McLam.

00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:29.920
Intro script by Sophie Wilde and David McLam.

00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:33.680
Theme Music Legendary by New Alchemist.

00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:37.120
Introduction and ending credits by Jackie Voice.

00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:42.560
See you next time on True Crime, Authors, and Extraordinary People.