\u201cWe have to remember the people who stood up and gave their lives,\u201d Nefahito said. \u201cWe see where we\u2019re at now. \u2026 We can\u2019t be complacent, we can\u2019t take the liberties and rights we have for granted. We have to fight, work and be kind to each other. We always have to help others and look for opportunities to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Dozens of people hold candles during a vigil to commemorate the 56th anniversary of the death of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, outside the Fred Hampton Apartment location at 2337 W. Monroe St, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025.<\/p>\n Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n The commemorations were first revealed last October<\/a> after a fight over how the organization\u2019s legacy would be preserved<\/a>, one commemorating the since-demolished Illinois Black Panther Party headquarters was installed on the Near West Side in July during a similar ceremony.<\/p>\n Nefahito took her time addressing the crowd to commemorate other Panthers who had since died, and later recounted memories of the assassination and Hampton, who she said was always educating and watching out for others.<\/p>\n \u201c[The officer shooting] said \u2018I\u2019ll get \u2018em out with this,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThey were shooting through the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n At the hospital, Nefahito was chained to her bed by officers despite orders from her doctor to walk as part of her physical therapy. In the Panthers, she worked in the party\u2019s information cadre, handing out papers and writing articles in addition to serving in its free breakfast program.<\/p>\n Wednesday night vigil\u2019s was briefly interrupted by Fred Hampton Jr., Hampton\u2019s son, who accused the preservation society\u2019s representatives of being federal operatives.<\/p>\n Congressman Bobby Rush, former defense minister of the Illinois chapter, hailed Hampton as \u201cmore courageous than Malcolm [X].\u201d He said officers had kicked down the door to his apartment the next day as they sought to wipe out the party\u2019s local leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cFred Hampton\u2019s murder we can never forget,\u201d Rush said. \u201cIt was the only political assassination in the history of this nation that was officially sanctioned by the U.S. government. \u2026 I don\u2019t know of any man, young or old, who represented the very best of human kind like [Hampton].\u201d<\/p>\n![\"PANTHERVIGIL-120425-23.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/7748d99\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3000x1996+0+0\/resize\/840x559!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F01%2F3e%2Fe36529b74f5e879bbaec22a2bb0f%2Fpanthervigil-120425-23.jpg\")
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