the village free press
Vol. II No. 6
FEBRUARY 14, 2018
@village_free
@maywoodnews
thevillagefreepress.org
Lady Pirates, West Sub champs, PAGE 6
Bill Hampton, keeper of the flame, dies at 71 He was the sole surviving member of Fred Hampton’s nuclear family By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
William Hampton — the Maywood Park District commissioner, community activist, de facto executor of his younger brother Fred Hampton’s legacy and a veteran in the decades-long fight to bring the government to account for Fred’s infamous 1969 assassination at the hands of law enforcement officials — died on Feb. 8. He was 71. Hampton had been recuperating from an unspecified surgical procedure at a nursing home and rehabilitation facility in Hillside at the time of his death, which was confirmed by at least three close friends and an employee of the facility. As news of his passing spread, many people in Maywood, where he lived, and across the country, began wondering aloud and on social media about what Hampton’s death means for Fred’s legacy and for the state of local activism and politics. Bill, as he was most commonly known, was the last living member of Fred Hampton’s nuclear family. Iberia, their mother, died in 2016 and their sister, Frances, died last year — roughly 10 months after her mother. Their father, Francis, has been dead for many years. The 17th Avenue apartment — where Fred ventured into local activism and where Bill’s connections merged forces with Iberia’s popular cooking to become a social and political destination for celebrities and common folk alike — is now empty. “Bill was a mountain of knowledge about black history in the United States,” said former Maywood trustee Gary Woll, who served with Bill as a member of the Maywood-Proviso Rotary Club. Some incumbent elected officials, such as Dawn WilliamsRone, the president of the Maywood Park District commission, lamented the loss to the community’s historical memory that would result from Hampton’s death. “He and his family are institutions in Maywood and his contributions to the park district are endless,” she said. “There’s no price you can put on the value of his time as a commissioner. He will be sorely missed.” “It’s such a tragedy that he is gone,” said Maywood trustee Isiah Brandon. “He represented so much history in regards to keeping the legacy of Fred Hampton alive and being able to provide opportunities for so many through the Fred Hampton Scholarship Foundation. I think that will leave a major impact in the community.” See BILL HAMPTON on page 3
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GIANT LOSS: Bill Hampton, the brother of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, in their childhood home in Maywood, flanked by photos of their mother Iberia’s grandparents, Edmond and Christine White. Hampton died on Feb. 8, at the age of 71.