A chronicle of Fred Hampton's revolutionary leadership of the Illinois Black Panther Party, followed by an investigation into his assassination at the hands of the Chicago Police Department.

Fred Hampton was the leader of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. This film depicts his brutal murder by the Chicago police and its subsequent investigation, but also documents his activities in organizing the Chapter, his public speeches, and the programs he founded for children during the last eighteen months of his life.—Harvard Film Archive / submitted by Max Schaefer <[email protected]>

This documentary has two distinct powerful elements: (1) a riveting record of Fred Hampton's activities and speeches that was in progress at the time of his murder, and (2) the fortunate opportunity to film the murder scene before the Chicago police changed it to fit their false narrative, and walk the viewer through the evidence. This documentary complements Judas and the Black Messiah which focuses less on his speeches and not at all on the police cover-up which it exposed over a year later.—Jonathan Grudin