From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago

304 Pages·2013·7.551 MB·English

by  Jakobi Williams

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FROM THE
BULLET
TO THE
BALLOT
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the john hope franklin series
in african american history and culture
Waldo E. Martin Jr. and Patricia Sullivan, editors
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jakobi williams

FROM THE
BULLET
TO THE
BALLOT
The Illinois Chapter of the
Black Panther Party and
Racial Coalition Politics
in Chicago
the university of north carolina press • chapel hill
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This book was published with the assistance of the
John Hope Franklin Fund of the University of North Carolina Press.
©2013 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Set in Charter ITC, theSans, Champion by codeMantra
Manufactured in the United States of America
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence
and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for
Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of
the Green Press Initiative since 2003.
Portions of Chapters 2 and 3 appeared previously in somewhat
different form in “ ‘Don’t no woman have to do nothing she don’t
want to do’: Gender, Activism, and the Illinois Black Panther Party,”
in Black Women, Gender and Families , Fall 2012. Copyright 2012 by
the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Used with permission
of the University of Illinois Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Williams, Jakobi.
From the bullet to the ballot : the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and racial
coalition politics in Chicago / by Jakobi Williams.
p. cm. —(John Hope Franklin series in African American history and culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8078-3816-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Black Panther Party. Illinois Chapter. 2. Black power—Illinois—Chicago—History—
20th century. 3. African Americans—Illinois—Chicago—Politics and government—
20th century. 4. African Americans—Civil rights—Illinois—Chicago—History—20th
century. 5. Civil rights movements—Illinois—Chicago—History—20th century.
6. Hampton, Fred, 1948–1969. 7. Chicago (Ill.)—Politics and government—1951–
8. Chicago (Ill.)—Race relations. I. Title.
F548.9.N4W55 2013
323.1196ʹ073077311—dc23
2012028588
17 16 15 14 13 5 4 3 2 1
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For my grandmother Louella Smith;
my family Cassandra, Surayya, and Amari;
and Joseph A. Brown, S.J., Ph.D.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations and Acronyms xvii
introduction. The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther
Party Speaks for Itself 1
one. The Political and Social Climate of Black Chicago,
1900–1970 15
two . The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party 53
three . Chicago and Oakland: A Comparative Analysis of the
Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and National
Headquarters 91
four. The Original Rainbow Coalition 125
five. Law Enforcement Repression and the Assassination of
Chairman Fred Hampton 167
six. The Legacy of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther
Party 191
Notes 219
Bibliography 261
Index 279
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ILLUSTRATIONS
Bobby Seale, Masai Hewitt, and Don Cox at a secret meeting with
Fred Hampton and Bobby Rush, 1969 9
Fred Hampton in T-Shirt at ilbpp headquarters, 1969 55
Fred Hampton, accompanied by members of the Young Lords,
speaking to college students, uic, 1969 76
ilbpp free breakfast program, male members serving children, Chicago,
1969 94
ilbpp members Ronald “Doc” Satchel, Fred Hampton, and Bobby Rush
posing with poster indicating the group’s opposition to the arrest of
Bobby Seale during the Chicago Eight trial, 1969 97
Ann Campbell, Communications Secretary, ilbpp, 1969 113
Christina “Chuckles” May, Deputy Minister of Culture, ilbpp, 1968 114
The original Rainbow Coalition at a press conference on April 4, 1969,
calling for interracial unity one year after the assassination of Martin
Luther King Jr. 131
Field Marshall Bob Lee, ilbpp, organizing Appalachian white migrants
during a community meeting in Uptown, 1968 134
Bill “Preacherman” Fesperman, Fred Hampton, Bobby Rush, and
Lamar Billy “Che” Brooks at Rainbow Coalition rally at band shell
in Grant Park, 1969 136
Young Patriots outside their Free Health Clinic, 1969 137
Free Health Clinic, Uptown Chicago, 1969 138
Free Health Clinic, Uptown Chicago, 1969, child with Dr. Valise 139
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