{"id":99453,"date":"2025-07-28T13:24:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T13:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/99453\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T13:24:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T13:24:12","slug":"site-of-chicago-black-panther-party-headquarters-honored-with-plaque-they-were-doers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/99453\/","title":{"rendered":"Site Of Chicago Black Panther Party Headquarters Honored With Plaque: ‘They Were Doers’"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEAR WEST SIDE \u2014 The headquarters for the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party was once at 2350 W. Madison St., where Chairman Fred Hampton rose to national prominence.<\/p>\n

Today, it is a Walgreens parking lot.<\/p>\n

But as of Saturday, the site is home to a plaque honoring the local Black Panther Party \u2014 the first of 12 plaques to be installed in Chicago recognizing the national Black rights organization.<\/p>\n

The plaques will be installed at places central to the Black Panther Party\u2019s history in Chicago and Illinois, with one already installed in Peoria. The sites were added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 2023<\/a> in an effort spearheaded by the Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois chapter of Black Panthers<\/a>, which unveiled the plaques last year.<\/p>\n

Once installed, the plaques will make up Black Panther Party Heritage Trail in Illinois, which will honor the pioneering organization and the injustice it faced after Hampton\u2019s assassination, officials said at a dedication ceremony Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe plaque commemorating the former headquarters of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, 2350 W. Madison St. during a ceremony on July 26, 2025. Credit: Charles Thrush\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Hampton, Bobby Rush and Bob Brown founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in August 1968 ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which saw widespread violence in clashes between demonstrators and police<\/a>. The contentious convention and the ensuing riots were documented in a photo exhibit featured at Saturday\u2019s plaque dedication, which brought together elected officials, former Panthers and neighbors.<\/p>\n

The local chapter provided free breakfast to young people and impoverished residents across Chicago. Many of the locations it operated will be commemorated as a part of the planned heritage trail, said Leila Wills, Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party.<\/p>\n

Rush, who served for decades as a congressman<\/a> after co-founding the Illinois chapter, spoke Saturday of the sacrifices members of the group made to uplift others and forge a path to a brighter future, specifically highlighting the work that went into the free breakfast program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just about leadership,\u201d Rush said. \u201cThe Black Panther Party was about those who were the rank and file, those who really would get up in the morning and cook the breakfast. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was about those who dedicated their lives and their futures \u2026 to make the dream and the goals of the Black Panther Party a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA free breakfast sign for the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party, at a plaque dedication on July 26, 2025. Credit: Charles Thrush\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

In his brief stint as deputy chairman for the Illinois Chapter, Hampton made it his mission to reach across racial barriers and build unity between members of the working class. He founded the Rainbow Coalition<\/a>, where he collaborated with local groups and street gangs like the Young Lords, Brown Berets and Young Patriots on joint survival projects and demonstrations.<\/p>\n

Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) shared some of his connection to the party, saying his parents lived and met \u201cacross the street\u201d from the former headquarters. Burnett, City Council\u2019s most-tenured alderman who is resigning<\/a> at the end of the month, implored future generations to study organizing of the past and the tactics employed by authorities to suppress revolutionary thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is personal for me,\u201d Burnett said to the crowd. \u201cThis chapter became a beacon of truth, challenging an unjust system with clarity and fire. They taught us that revolution is not just an act of defiance, but an act of service. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut let us not whitewash this history. The FBI waged war against them not because they were violent, but because they were effective and building power among the powerless. \u2026 Let this marker remind every passerby: These were not just dreamers; they were doers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The local Black Panther chapter disbanded in 1973 as the group became increasingly fractured in the wake of Hampton\u2019s well-documented assassination<\/a> at 2337 W. Monroe St., another location on the historic registry.<\/p>\n

Hampton, then 21, was killed during a Chicago police raid aided by FBI counterintelligence as he was sleeping in his apartment on Dec. 4, 1969, just a few months before his son, who would be named in his honor, was born. Hampton\u2019s killing was part of the FBI\u2019s targeted Counterintelligence Program<\/a> that systematically attacked and dismantled left-wing activist groups from 1956 through 1971, including the Black Panthers.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Congressman Bobby Rush and Fred Hampton Jr. speak during the unveiling ceremony for a plaque at 2350 W. Madison St. on July 26, 2025. Credit: Charles Thrush\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Hampton\u2019s son, Fred Hampton Jr., who was at Saturday\u2019s event, remained quiet as the slate of speakers rolled through before erupting into a pointed critique of officials behind the historical preservation effort. Hampton Jr. has been a vocal opponent of historic preservation efforts relating to the Illinois chapter for years, the Sun-Times previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hampton Jr. said the Historical Preservation Society is hijacking his father\u2019s legacy and co-opting the mission of the Black Panther Party for corporate gain. Rush attempted to cool the situation by saying, \u201cWe love you, Fred.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hampton Jr.\u2019s behavior at Saturday\u2019s event was \u201cunacceptable,\u201d said Billy \u201cCh\u00e9\u201d Brooks, former deputy minister of education for the chapter and one of Hampton Sr.\u2019s closest confidants.<\/p>\n

Brooks stressed the importance of historic preservation, especially in a time in which racial and class tensions in the United States are growing, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some things we can do to create the type of support and understanding that we need in our community at this time,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cBecause 1968 is not that different from 2025. Really, it comes down to governments committing genocide throughout the world, and that needs to be struggled against. Most of the things we\u2019re struggling against did not just come into existence, and we need to be reminded of the struggles of the \u201960s and \u201970s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other sites to get a plaque honoring the Black Panthers:<\/p>\n