Module 7

Discussion

Who is Fred Hampton, the BPP, and what does he mean by these two quotes?

[Speech (delivered at Oliver Church, 1969) "Power Anywhere Where There's People"]

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, then you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." P.1
"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

@Oct 15, 2020 6:25 PM

Fred Hampton was an American activist and deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party (BPP), and chairman of the Illinois chapter of the BPP. This made him a target of focus for the FBI, who raided his house in December of 1969 and killed him in his bed.

1. In this quote, Hampton is preaching the importance of having experience that is relevant and helpful for tackling social problems. He is saying that you can have as many academic degrees as you want, but without practice, you can't do much with that. He talks about how people mainly learn by observation and participation. He believes that practice -and walking the walk- is second to none.

2. Again, he is explaining that theory is not that useful if its not practiced, and probably not accurate either. His thought process is as follows: you have a theory, you practice it, you make mistakes, you correct the theory, and you end up with a theory that is correct and applicable.

@October 23 at 5:07 PM

Hello ___, I enjoyed reading your discussion post. I agree with what you said, that talking the talk is not the same as walking the walk. To make a difference, there must be practice within our lives. I think these two quotes from his speech are a truth that lets us think deeper and understand how we can apply it to become anti-racist as well.

Thanks for sharing!

@November 2 at 2:27 PM

I like the fact that you mentioned how having experience is important in order to enact change on social problems. If you think about it, even in jobs, they usually ask for experience and this is very crucial when it comes to issues in society. People go to school and study all sorts of courses on social justice and criminal law but if they do not use that knowledge and put it to the task, it's just a title they hold. For the second quote analysis, I would like to add that applying a theory does not happen overnight, you need to go through a series of experiences to realise what works est and when. So with putting theory into action, it takes time but it should not mean that it is not worth it.

@Oct 23, 2020 4:45 PM

Who is Fredrick Allen Hampton? He was an American activist and revolutionary socialist in Chicago and was the deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party. Founded in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, the BBP was an African American political party that challenged police brutality against the Black community.

From what I understand, you could relate both of these quotes to the saying “jack of all trades, master of none”. No matter how many degrees/theories/skills one has, it doesn’t matter because at the end of the day, they’re useless and don’t provide true meaning and change unless you practice and truly put in the time and effort.

I believe these quotes connect to the idea of what it means to be a true anti-racist. Like we learned in this module, there is a difference between being non-racist and being anti-racist. Marlon James provides an excellent perspective: You can say that you think climate change is horrible and watch it deteriorate on TV. But that itself won’t get you anywhere with making a difference to stop climate change! By doing the bare minimum of not being racist is not enough, whatsoever.

There’s no significant change from being a non-racist. There must be practice and action (not just words) to become an anti-racist. Begin by educating others like younger siblings and confronting racist family members and friends, for instance. Keeping to myself won’t change our racist society and its problems.

Here’s an article that gives more of Fred’s speech: https://collabyrinthconsulting.com/2016/01/18/excerpt-power-anywhere-where-theres-people-a-speech-by-fred-hampton/

“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.” - Angela Y. Davis

@November 3 at 11:23 AM

I like how you mentioned that Hampton used the thermometer analogy which shows how education is more accessible and the stigma around getting a degree. You're right that using the acquired education in spaces is important because racism won't disappear on its own. I love your use of Dr. Kendi's quote and how we all have the possibility to create change.

@November 3 at 2:37 PM

Hey ___,

I think both quotes do connect with the difference between being a non-racist and being anti-racist. I can see how one is just knowing and the other is taking action. I love the quote by Angela Y. Davis you posted at the end. This quote sums up what we learned in the modules. We have to unlearn the bias we have on others and challenge the system. It is no longer enough to say I am not a racist. I agree that we can start at home with family members and just speaking up for those who are experiencing racism.

@November 3 at 7:11 PM

Hi ___! I couldn't agree more, we have to actually apply everything we've learned about what it means to be an antiracist in order for it to mean anything. The content of this course is so much more than just the credit, it could actually be used for the better. It's not enough to be a non-racist, especially if we know how to be antiracist, we just have make the conscious choice to do so.

@November 4 at 1:34 AM

Hi ___, I love how you used the quote/term "jack of all trades, master of none" in you analysis, it really summed up both quotes really well. Your connection to Marlon James, the difference between racist, non-racist, and anti-racist was certainly something to think about. I think that this course is really arming me with the theories and concepts of anti racism. Now it's time for me to apply it in the real world, because being non-racist simply isn't enough!

@Nov 2, 2020 2:21 PM

Fred Hampton was an activist from Chicago who gained a lot of recognition as a revolutionary socialist. He was the deputy chairman of the national BPP - Black Panther Party. On December 4th 1969, he was unfortunately assassinated at the age of 21.

This quote brings to light the idea of power and teachings. He is trying to show that there are so many people that use their degrees of education as a source of power and influence when in reality it does not mean anything unless it is put into action. In reality learning goes beyond having qualification, particle learning is essential and the most efficient in society. The ending of the quote is suggesting that only with practice and physical participation, are you able to extend your skills.
The meaning behind this quote is showing how there is not much to just a theory. A theory is just a series of words, but when those theories are applied to real-world events and is used at the moment, then it becomes an active force in society. People should not just hold the information they have and accept it for what it is, change and growth only happen when that information is used practically.

@November 3 at 1:23 PM

I liked how you said that learning goes beyond qualification because someone can learn and memorize various facts but they can’t truly know something in depth unless they “get their hands dirty” and practice what they learn. The only way racism can be effectively fought against is when people educate themselves and then go out into the world and actively challenge anti-Black racism.

@Nov 2, 2020 4:42 PM

Fred Hampton was an active, vocal leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). Hampton joined the Black Panther Party (BPP), a Black power political organization, in November 1968. He gained a leadership role where he became the deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Party. As an active leader, leading rallies, creating peace between rival gangs and establishing a free breakfast program, he also became an interest to the FBI. On December 4th, 1969, he was murdered while he lay unconscious next to his pregnant wife.

These two quotes delivered by Hampton during his speech at Oliver church in 1969 essentially mean that to truly have a theory that you believe in, you must 'walk the walk' and not only 'talk the talk.' Talking about standing up to something or backing up a theory is one thing that anyone can do, but actually acting on your theory and backing it up in society is much different and takes further courage, strength and belief. Saying you believe in something is one thing, but acting on it is another, which takes any belief and makes it much more influential.

@November 4 at 1:40 AM

Hi ___, I definitely agree that to make the conscious choice to act upon a belief or theory is very dependant on a person's courage and strength. "It's always easier said than done" or "talk is cheap" are quotes that come to mind when I read your post. Both of these quotes emphasize that words them selves don't hold much value, it's much easier to talk up, and put up a front then to go out there and put in the effort to get the results.

@Fri at 10:38 AM

Hello ___!

I absolutely saw these quotes in the same light as you. I believe Hampton is successfully articulating the importance of putting theory into practice and I think you did a really great job of summing it up through 'walk the walk' not just 'talk the talk'. I also agree that it takes courage and strength to stand for what you believe in and acting on a theory.

I also see these quotes as Hampton's cry for people to not solely rely on what they are taught and to break away; towards experience. Included in the first quote is "you can have as many degrees as a thermometer" which I believe is relating to the irrelevance of knowledge if we fail to have lived experience.

@Fri at 11:17 PM

Hey ___, I really enjoyed the part where you said ".. to truly have a theory that you believe in, you must 'walk the walk' and not only 'talk the talk.' " In my post, I questioned what's the point of leaving a theory unproved, if you have something you truly believe in , then show it ( put in not practice ). Great post for this week!

@Nov 2, 2020 6:46 PM

Fred Hampton was an revolutionary socialist, joining the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP) in November 1968. Alongside Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, Hampton rose to a leadership figure in the party. The BPP's main objective when forming in 1966 was to patrol African American communities and protect people from police brutality. The BPP then formed into a group calling for the arming of all African Americans, with exemption from the drafts and from all sanctions of white America. With membership rising the party enforced for the release from prison of all African Americans and the payment of compensation to African Americans for centuries of white American exploitation. "If you dare to struggle, you dare to win. If you dare not struggle, then damn it, you don't deserve to win." - Hampton was shortly killed after by a raid from Chicago police and FBI agencies on December 4, 1969.

Hamptons quotes emphasize how there needs to be action taken in order for your "degree" to be relevant. Having a degree can mean that you know the material, you know what is happening but the need for participation and going and contributing is different. Looking at the second quote, people gather information on theories but they don't act upon them. You can have all the knowledge but if you do not apply it and practice it, the theory is inconsequential. Fred Hampton's, Power Anywhere Where There's People, displays how Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale take action in fixing a intersection with no stop signs. They manage to put up stop signs to prevent accidents and this shows how the BPP took action and initiative in making prolonged change.

https://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/fhamptonspeech.html

@Nov 2, 2020 7:49 PM

Fred Hampton was an American activist who led the Black Panther Party (BPP) in Chicago. The BPP demonstrated non-violent protests and cared for their community by giving back to those in need.

The meaning behind the first quote is that people go to school and acquire many degrees. However, people need to experience something first hand before they truly understand it and propose to make change. To get this experience, one must engage others to see how things impact them. This will also put one’s beliefs to the test as they will be able to see for themselves what the world is and how things really work.

The meaning behind the second quote is that even with the knowledge you have acquired if you haven’t practiced it then it’s not relevant. Since without any practice how can something be applied at all. When you attain any knowledge, you need to practice it since mistakes can be made. Through these mistakes you are able to learn and go through the experience. By doing this you’ll also be able to see where you can do better next time.

@November 3 at 1:19 PM

I like how you said that if you have the knowledge but don’t practice it, then it’s not relevant because you can learn about racism and talk about how bad it is but if you don’t go out into the world and actively use that knowledge in order to fight against white supremacy then that knowledge is useless. Racism is a system that must be actively fought in order for that to be real change, just being a non-racist is not enough.

@Fri at 9:31 PM

Hi ___!

I love how you said that you can make mistakes and learn to fix these issues so that you can do better next time. I think it's important to make mistakes and learn from them.

@Fri at 9:35 PM

Hi ___! Great discussion post! I especially appreciate how you highlighted that the quotes emphasizes the importance of experiencing something first hand in order to truly understand what you have learned. Couldn't have said it better myself. I also appreciate how you said that even if you make mistakes, it helps a lot more in the learning process, than if you were to never make mistakes because you never practice what you learned! Excellent points made in this discussion post!

@Nov 3, 2020 12:36 AM

Fredrick Allen Hampton or more commonly known as Fred Hampton was an American activist and deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party ( BPP). Founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in 1966, the BBP was an African American political party which challenged countless issues against the Black community, one of which is police brutality.

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time."

I think that this quote paints a good representation on how many of us are theorising but not practising. The way Hampton uses the comparison of having degrees to a thermometer shows us how education is more accessible and the stigma on getting an education is also really prevalent. However, I think that with getting an education, it doesn't mean that you are "fully" educated. While getting a degree is holds great value in your future, I do think that using your education in spaces is as important. By this, I see how we tend to avoid difficult topics like racism even though we want a change. Like Hampton states " you can't walk across the street and chew gum", racism is deeply rooted in our society and it won't disappear by itself. It requires effort. We can't educate without implementation. This also interrelates with the second quote:

"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

as Hampton highlights clearly that without our efforts and practises to demolish racism, nothing will be done. Dr Kendi summarises this concept as he states " before we can treat, we must believe", illustrating that there is a possibility for change. A possibility for us to transform our society. Thus, what I can say is that we have the resources, we do have the access for education of racism (such as this course), it is now time to kickstart this momentum. It's time for us to leverage on our education and use it towards real, tangible, impactful change.

@November 4 at 10:02 AM

Thank you for your response ___! It’s great to know that someone understood my stand and was willing to hear. This shows that you want to get a conversation going. Thus with Kendi’s words and Hampton’s, by educating, leaning and hearing experiences of oppression, we too can be instruments to change!

@November 5 at 3:19 AM

Hi ___,

You made a good point when you mentioned that racism is deeply rooted in our society and it won't disappear by itself. This is very true and it does require more effort. I also like how used Dr. Kendi's quote to help explain that there is a possibility for change if we believe and use more effort.

@November 5 at 11:56 PM

Thank you for your response ___! It’s great to know that you related to Kendi's quote and that you got a better understand on implementing a change in our society . I hope that with my discussion boards along with others that we can strike out a conversation and start taking action!

@November 5 at 1:54 PM

Hi ___!

I agree that there is a stigma surrounding getting a higher education although many people are successful without one. I believe that your career path should include what is right for you rather than going to university or college because people around you are saying that you should.

I agree that we tend to avoid topics such as racism even though we talk about wanting to make a change in the system. While we learn about racism and why it is wrong, as well as ways to combat racism, nothing will change if we do not apply what we learn. Racism is entrenched in our everyday lives and without practicing anti-racism every single day, we will not be part of the change.

@Fri at 12:00 AM

Hey ___!

Those are some great points and I totally agree with you! It's true that even with so much education around combating racism, there's hardly any action taken. Thus, as much as we would like to be anti-racists, we need to take that first step! Like Kendi, Angela Davis, Nelson Mandela and many other prominent figures, we need to aspire to also be a figure of change to our generation.

@Fri at 7:38 PM

I liked how you related the words of Fred Hampton back to Dr. Kendi. I agree that it is time to leverage our education, or perhaps look at how a collection of knowledge and experience together ultimately results in the best output and the most successful solution because anything you can do can have the "degrees" with the first hand experience to fine tune any "theory".

@Fri at 11:12 PM

Hey ___, once again I totally agree with your take of this weeks post. When you stated "this quote paints a good representation on how many of us are theorising but not practising. It like I was called out lol, sometimes I don't put the lessons in learned in life into good use, or I ignore them and keep making the same ones. Its definitely something I need to work on!

@Nov 3, 2020 11:02 AM

Fred Hampton was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He became important in Chicago as chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party and deputy chairman of the national BPP.

1. Learning has to be done through participation and observation. Having a PhD doesn't mean you automatically know everything, if you haven't experienced it through seeing or participating the PhD means nothing.

2. When learning a new theory it has to be practised and applied to different situations and applied to your own life in order to understand it and do it correctly.

@Fri at 2:35 PM

Hi ___!

I completely agree with your interpretation of these quotes. I particularly like how you mentioned experience. The struggles of African Americans are mostly dismissed, because white individuals and other people of colour have not experienced the atrocities the Black community have. Years of oppression have literally made the bar so low, that simply being "not-racist" is something to be hailed and rewarded for.

@Fri at 9:29 PM

Hi ___!

I agree with you on these quotes that they're saying you need to experience things, not just be knowledgeable in the subjects.

Great interpretations!

@Fri at 9:56 PM

Hello,

I agree with you post. I too think that the application of theory into practice is when someone really gets to applied their learning. This is when someone starts to really learn and understand all the in-class theories. Only book knowledge is definitely not enough to call someone specialized. To be able understand other people's struggles and their experiences people need to work alongside them and really try and put themselves in other's shoes.

Thank you for sharing!

@Nov 3, 2020 1:06 PM

Fred Hampton was an American activist and revolutionary who was one of the leaders of the Black Panther Party. By these quotes, Hampton is saying that you can learn as much as you can about theory, systems of oppression or the Black experience but some things you only learn through observation and participation. This also applies to the concept of being a non-racist vs. anti-racist because you can think you don't discriminate by saying the n-word but to be an anti-racist, you have to actively unlearn unconscious biases, go to protests and challenge anti-Black racism in everyday life. You have to actively be coming in contact with the system you're trying to fight to truly understand it.

@November 3 at 2:15 PM

Hi ___,

I appreciate the examples you provided as to action individuals can take to actively challenge anti-Blackness. Being an active participant in social movements is something which is relevant, especially right now.

An absence of a decision is still a decision to remain complicit, so by being active in social movements, and within social situations where there is racist rhetoric, we are able to be more than just bystanders.

@November 3 at 4:08 PM

Hi ___,

I really enjoyed reading your discussion post and how you interpreted Hampton's quotations. I especially loved how you illustrated so concisely the fact that "some things you only learn through observation and participation." I agree with this statement as well as your final point which emphasizes the significance of actually coming in contact with the systems you are striving to understand and deconstruct. Overall, well done! Looking forward to reading your future posts!

@Nov 3, 2020 1:27 PM

Fred Hampton was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He was a chairman of The Black Panther Party.

1. When I read Fred’s first quote, I think of how the degrees can reflect “I’m not racist”. This is like what we learned in the module “Non-Racist vs Anti-Racist”. You can say you are not racist that will make you nonracist. It is not until you are actively challenging the system you become anti-racism. You can have many degrees that show you know about Canadian history and how it treats people of colour. All the degrees will not matter until you put theory to practice. Learning comes from experience and putting what you know into practice. If you don’t practice what you preach then you won’t make a difference.

2. Knowledge is when you have the facts, but true wisdom is when you apply those facts. When you have wisdom and understanding you can actively use what is given to you to create a change. With this quote, it is saying theory without practice is dead. You cannot break down a system that is made to oppress others simply by knowing about the system. Taking the action to apply what you know creates change. It is not enough to say I am not a racist when the system is promoting racism. To see the system, fall it first has to be challenged by those who see it is not promoting equality and equity.

@November 3 at 2:02 PM

"It is not enough to say I am not a racist when the system is promoting racism" Agreed!

Acknowledging that the system is promoting racism and anti-Blackness is only the first step. Knowing is still inaction unless the knowledge fuels a plan to challenge anti-Black policies, etc.

@November 4 at 6:58 AM

Hi ___!

I really enjoyed your post. I totally agree that people think that being non-racist is enough when it is not because there is not such thing. Being non-racist is made as an excuse to people who want to live in a society that is ignorant. In a place that ignores oppression and systematic racism that creates a difficult environment for people of colour to reach success. It goes back to Hampton idea of just being educated about oppression does nothing to solve this. I feel that you perfectly highlighted this in you discussion. Thank you for sharing you opinion.

@Nov 3, 2020 1:56 PM

The Black Panther Party, founded in 1966, was a revolutionary political organization dedicated to empowering and protecting Black communities. Fred Hampton was the founder of Chicago’s Black Panther Party chapter.

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, then you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." The level of one’s education, the knowledge which they have, is useless if not exercised. People do not learn anti-racism simply by knowing of it, or participating in anti-racist practice occassionally. They must practice consistently in order to be a true anti-racist. Knowing of racism and being a bystander has implications worse than being ignorant: it means one is aware of the injustices of the world, but makes a conscious decision to remain complicit in them.

The following quote reiterates the points made above: "I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to be irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it." If anti-racist theory exists in a hypothetical plane, racist ideology and practice continues to be perpetuated in society. If the collective works towards applying said theories to their lives, racism will truly begin to be challenged as it is affecting Black people. Rather than observing the aftermath and discussing how we could potentially stop racism, we must practice the ways in which we will stop it.

@November 3 at 7:04 PM

Hi ___! I really enjoyed your analysis. I feel like this is such a great way to remind us about all the anti-racist theory we have learned throughout this course and how important it is to actually put it to use in our day-to-day life. We have to make the conscious decision to be an antiracist or else we are also apart of the problem.

@November 4 at 11:41 AM

I have to say that I quite liked your quote analysis because it got me thinking about a couple of things. In the first quote, I am interested in the fact that you said people don't learn anti-racism by just knowing it and I find that so important. There have been dozens of times where I have confronted acts of racism (even if it was microaggressions) and I have heard the same 'I am not racist, I took a Black history course in school' or 'i support Black people, I took a racism class in university'. And all of that means nothing when it is not even applied to the real world. It's crucial to see that all these classes, courses and qualifications mean absolutely nothing if they are not able to provide any usefulness in society.

@Nov 3, 2020 4:02 PM

Fred Hampton (1948-1969) was a prominent American activist and socialist. Hampton came into prominence in Chicago as chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party (BPP) as well as deputy chairman of the national BPP. The BPP was a Black Power political organization founded by college students in Oakland California, 1966. This organization persisted on until 1982 - within this time spreading across major cities of the US as well as having international chapters in the UK and Algeria. BPP’s core practice involved armed citizens’ patrols, frequently referred to as “cop watching”, in effort of monitoring the behaviour of officers and, ultimately, challenging police brutality. Additional practices included community social programs addressing concerns such as food injustice, education, as well as the treatment of diseases.

Notably, Hampton also founded the Rainbow Coalition, a multicultural political organization which served to end infighting and form alliances for social change. Hampton’s remarkable activism and talent as a political organizer identified him as a “radical threat,” and under the FBI’s initiative, Hampton was assassinated in 1969.

My interpretation of Hampton’s quotations provided for this week’s discussion is that he is speaking to how individuals learn - through observation and participation. I believe that he is emphasizing the latter, saying that those who have numerous degrees and theories are not useful if they do not practice them. And how should they practice them? Hampton states that individuals must participate in the culture and take meaningful action. It my understanding that the BPP, and radical activism in general, can be characterized by an emphasis of action over mere discussion or theorization.

@November 4 at 8:49 PM

Hi ___,

I love how you were able to tie everything together in this question. It is so important that we learn through experiences we may have in the outside world and not just what we read in books. Because this way we may find that not everything we originally thought to be true is true, books become outdated so quickly these days with new findings it's hard to keep up with. So it's important that we experience things for ourselves and let not just books teach us but let the world teach us as well.

@Nov 3, 2020 6:53 PM

Fred Hampton was an activist and a chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. He was also an active leader for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The Black Panther Party was a Black nationalist organization active between 1966 to 1982. It was created to challenge police brutality while providing utilitarian social programs for Black communities.

I actually chose to do my Twitter thread assignment on the BPP, if anyone is interested here’s the link: The Black Panther Party

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." P.1

I think this means that regardless of the education you have if you are not consciously or effectively putting that knowledge to use then it means nothing.

"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it doesn’ have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practise it."

This quote is basically saying the same thing. You can know right vs wrong, but it doesn’t actually matter unless you know how to apply it to your life.

In regards to confronting anti-Black racism, this is such a notable way to end our class discussions. We are now equipped with so much knowledge and theories of how to become an antiracist and what that actually means. Now, it is up to us to consciously put these techniques to use. Each individual must practise being antiracist because it is not something that just happens overnight. We must practise confronting racism or we will remain neutral in racist situations, and that does nothing for the larger issue at hand. We can't just sit back and allow our new antiracist knowledge to become "irrelevant" like the quote says just because it has no direct impact on us. The only way to see change is if we put what we have learned from this class to adequate use.

@November 4 at 7:03 AM

Hi ___!

I really enjoyed your post and I completely agree that this was a very important way to end our discussions. Many of us came into this course not knowing what to expect and what to learn, and I myself must admit that there are many things that I was happy I have learned from these modules and discussions alone. I agree that now it is our turn to really apply this learning and use our education to battle racism and for each of us to strive to be anti-racist and help others to become that as well.

@Nov 4, 2020 1:27 AM

To understand who Fred Hampton was, we must first understand the Black Panther Party (BPP).

The BPP was first founded in late 1966 in Oakland California, by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. It was established to protect African American neighbourhoods and its residents from police brutality. It then developed into a revolutionary and influential political group that was apart of the Black Power movement.

Fred Hampton joined the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther movement, then moved up the ranks into the position of leadership. Fred Hampton was one of many influential Black Panthers that were part of the movement. One particular quote from Hampton stands out and helps define the BPP and their beliefs in particular…

"We got to face some facts. That the masses are poor, that the masses belong to what you call the lower class, and when I talk about the masses, I'm talking about the white masses, I'm talking about the black masses, and the brown masses, and the yellow masses, too. We've got to face the fact that some people say you fight fire best with fire, but we say you put fire out best with water. We say you don't fight racism with racism. We're gonna fight racism with solidarity. We say you don't fight capitalism with no black capitalism; you fight capitalism with socialism."

- Fred Hampton. Oliviet Church, 1969

This first quote: "Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time."
And second quote: "I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

Both these quotes are similar because of the message that both convey. Both quotes are stating that without application, practice, and experience, that degrees/qualifications are essentially useless. The first quote emphasizes that you could have many degrees, however, without practice, and experience, something as mundane and simple as “walking across the street and chew gum at the same time” will be challenging. The second quote is Hampton calling out the fact that without practice, theories will be useless.

What Hampton was trying to teach us with these quotes is that the lack of application, knowledge, theories, and degrees will prove futile. Both are co-dependent upon each other.

Without real-world application and experience, theories will remain theories, and degrees will simply remain a piece of paper. The same with the presence of experience but lack of knowledge and theories, one will be insufficient in the necessary tools to analyze and evaluate the situation.

@November 4 at 6:53 AM

Hi ___! I really enjoyed your point, that without applying these theories we preach then it is essentially useless .I totally agree It connects to the idea of being racist vs being anti-racist. People are content with going to bed and knowing that they are not racist but this is an excuse. By being ignorant to the problem, not acknowledging mistakes of others and holding them accountable you are in fact a racist. I think it is similar with Hampton where he is trying to get across saying that it is not enough that you are educated about oppression to effect change but to engage. To be Black in the 60’s you had to be brave. These young men & women took action. To protect their neighbourhoods. Provide for the families, the children. Watching over Black people to make sure they weren't harassed. Introducing Black pride & beauty. The scholars & college educated men and women who took part. To me the BPP is that they were ready for change and I admire and respect the image they put forward.

@November 4 at 11:22 AM

Hi ___! Thanks for your response, I completely agree with your points. To have the knowledge of how to be an anti-racist and not make the steps to utilize it and simply being okay with being "non-racist" is common, and definitely still prevalent today. It takes a lot of inner courage and a strong resolve to fight against the grain, which is why I believe that leaders such as Fred Hampton are incredibly brave to step forward and help lead a movement. So that those people with less courage, are able to able to step up as well.

@November 4 at 7:24 PM

Hi ___,

I completely agree with your interpretation of Hampton's quotes. Challenging anti-Black racism is impossible until theories are put into practice. The degrees as stated in the first quote will prove meaningless lest that education is used for furthering social change. You are absolutely right in how both knowledge and action are co-dependent on each other. Knowledge can (regretfully) exist without action, but do you think that action can exist without the corresponding knowledge? What do you think?

@Nov 4, 2020 6:43 AM

Who is Fred Hampton, the BPP, and what does he mean by these two quotes? [Speech (delivered at Oliver Church, 1969) "Power Anywhere Where There's People"]

When police murder innocent young Black people for simply existing, as a Black man living in a white supremacist space Hampton ideas and those of the Black Panther continue to live on. The words in his speech are just as important now as they were then. Founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale , the Black Panther Party for Self-Defence became the most widely known black militant political organization of the late 1960s. The Black Panthers attracted widespread support among young urban blacks, who wore the group's distinctive black leather jackets, black berets, and openly displayed weapons. Fred Hampton helped set up the Black Panther pre-breakfast program for children . On December 4th 1969 a tactical unit of the Illinois states attorney’s office, supported by the FBI and the Chicago police department murdered the young Hampton as he slept in his bed. Why would a 24 year old Black man be such a threat to the nation? Fred Hampton, a revolutionary on a mission fighting against a system of exploitation and oppression. As a member of the Black Panther Party, he fought to give power to the people.

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." P.1

With this quote Hampton explaining that just being educated about oppression as he mentioned earlier in his speech - about oppression and liberation is not enough to effect change and that we must engage. Education alone is not sufficient to produce social change and that people need to unite theory and practice.

"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

There are a lot of so-called “activists” who write more words on social media, people who are all talk and no walk. People who know the lingo, and can talk in a million different ways about engaging and doing something but never do. An “armchair-socialists,” is a term to describe this kind of person. In this quote it goes back to the idea of engaging to produce real change and putting into practice theories that we preach .

http://web.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm

http://www.fightbacknews.org/2008/02/fredhampton.htm

@Fri at 8:42 PM

Exactly! And this can even be applied to the Black community too. It is possible that during the fight for racial equality, the Black community makes a mistake in its execution. However, it's better to make a mistake and learn from it than to not do anything at all.

@November 4 at 6:15 PM

Hey ___, your response was really clear and well-written. I like how you mentioned how Fred's word are just as relevant today as they were then, I agree completely. I think racism has changed and evolved immensely which sometimes is seen as that it's gone or even less relevant. Racism is alive and well in 2020 and Fred's words are a great place to work from to realise we still have so much to improve on and tear up. I like your description of the first quote in saying that education is valuble but not enough, engagement is key to create movement and change. Do you think that the second quote might be more about testing and acting on the theories we create rather than just engagement of any kind? I think in that quote specifically Fred is trying to explain that to refine the ideas of truth we have we have to test and trouble shoot those theories, which means making mistakes and self-correcting. What do you think?

@November 4 at 7:37 PM

I agree that he meant more about testing the theories as I said “engaging to produce real change and putting into practice theories that we preach .” I do like how you added the making mistakes and self correcting part because this goes back to anti racism vs racism as well. The idea that people think that being not racist is enough but what we need to strive for is to be anti racist and what I think people confuse is that people think we have to be perfect, without flaw to be in that side when in fact admitting your flaws and taking accountability is a step in the right direction.

@November 4 at 7:18 PM

Hi ___,

I agree with what you said about how Hampton means that simply being educated on the issues is insufficient to produce social change. I would like to add to that. By these quotes, Hampton not only means that education is insufficient, but is irrelevant without being put into practice. By these quotes, he means to say that the road to social change does not end at an education. Theory must be actively implemented into society to produce that change for it to be worth anything.

@November 5 at 2:40 PM

Hi ___!

I really like what you added.

@Nov 4, 2020 10:45 AM

Fred Hampton was an American Activist who was apart of a group called the Black Panther Party (BPP). Not long after joining Hampton became head of the group for the Chicago branch. The Black Panther Party was a group that was created in 1966 to help protect the neighbourhoods and residents from police brutality. He did many great things for the Black community while he was leading this group and made a lot of connections and alliances with multiple gangs. These alliances between the gangs and the BPP were known as the Rainbow Coalition. The police were not a fan of this alliance and Hampton was then put on polices radar as they saw him as a threat. Sadly, on December 4th, 1969 Fred Hampton was murdered. He was murdered by policemen who had opened fire in his own apartment. Hamptons family sued the city and the government and ended up winning a huge settlement, this settlement would be the largest one ever in a civil rights case.

What I think Hampton meant by these two quotes is that just because someone has the right schooling or degree none of it matters if they don’t have the practice behind it. You can’t learn everything just through your schooling, you need real life experiences and practice. If you don’t have the practice then you can’t tell other people how to live their life. You need to observe and participate to be able to make a change. As for the theory, I think this quote means that no matter how much you have learned or how much theory you have, none of it matters if you don’t practice it. What I think Hampton was trying to get at is power isn’t in theory and education, it’s in those who have practice and experience. Power isn’t defined by your position but by your willing to make a difference.

@November 4 at 8:47 PM

Hi ___,

I love how you talk about how just because someone may have a degree or been to school at a well respected school doesn't mean what you say immediately is true. You have to learn through experiences not just through what you read in books, books can quickly become outdated with new findings which means you could spread misinformation which could have very negative impacts.

@November 5 at 2:24 PM

Hi ___!

I agree that regardless of what education you have, learning is useless if you don't practice what you learn. Without participating and observing in real-life experiences, it is impossible to master any skill. And without being able to master being anti-racist, you can't make a change. I also believe that educational theories are not where power is but instead in people who have life experience to speak from and have practiced what they learn along the way.

@Nov 4, 2020 5:40 PM

Fred Hampton was the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, he organized rallies and programs while chairman including a Free Breakfast program and initiated a peace pact between rivaling gangs. He was killed in a brutal FBI raid of his home on December 3rd, 1969.

1. This quote was near the beginning of Fred’s speech, when he said it he was referencing the idea that getting a degree doesn't mean you’re smart in worldly things, or that you understand how reality works. Fred is referencing that people with PhDs are seen as the smartest people around, whereas he doesn’t see it that way. Sure they have the highest level of education but you can get a degree while sitting alone at home reading textbook after textbook. That knowledge isn’t power or strength, it's just a lot of information. There is no power in it until you actually use it and put it into practice. Fred is saying that it was and is necessary to make change and do your part to ruffle some feathers, cause some problems. There’s much more power in a group of people ready to revolt than the singular brain of anyone, one genius and this is what Fred is referencing.

2. This quote is Fred referencing the idea that without actually testing theories they are nothing but that, theories. He speaks on the idea that theories can only be validated if you make mistakes, correct them and then repeat. It’s necessary to text the ideas in order for them to be credible at all. He gives an example of a time when his car was making an odd sound and had to search for the issue. He took apart each car part until finally it was the very last part, the carburetor. Now after that trial and error he knew that sound meant, the carburetor is the issue and can fix it first next time. This shows that if he never had that troubleshooting period he would still be in the dark about why his car broke down and how to solve this issue in the future.

Fred is talking about this in the context of making things happen and getting out there and testing. If people stay silent forever there is no progress and no revolt, but if you stand up and throw yourself out there something will happen. Whether it’s good or bad is to figure out in the future but corrected theories are the most effective.

@Fri at 6:08 AM

Hi! I really enjoyed reading your post. I loved the way how you interpreted the whole speech given by Fred Hampton in such a concise and clear manner. I totally agree with you on the part when you talk about how theories can be wrong, but then they can be corrected only if we put them to practice.

@Nov 4, 2020 6:09 PM

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization in the United States, founded in 1909. Fred Hampton was an active leader in the NAACP and joined the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party (BBP) in November 1968. The Black Panther Party, originally named the African American Revolutionary Party, was founded in 1966 in Oakland California. Its purpose was to protect residents of Black communities from acts of police brutality.

I see both of Fred Hampton’s quotes as connecting to this week’s strategies on challenging anti-Black racism. It is extremely important to understand historical significance of oppressive systems in order to be able to change it. This involves re-framing how we think and shifting our views to historical accuracy. And while this foundation is necessary, Hampton is recognizing knowledge by “you can have as many degrees as a thermometer” and “I [do not] care how much theory you got”. These components of the quote are demonstrating that theory and reading will only contribute to a certain benchmark of understand. In order to achieve beyond theory, one must value lived experience and put knowledge into action. This is represented through the second half of each quote: “if you don’t have any practice, then you can’t walk across the street and chew gum at the same time” and “if you don’t have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to be irrelevant”. Hampton is ultimately encouraging “any theory you get, practice it”, meaning, take what you have learned and apply it in the real world. These two quotes, in their totality, are urging audiences to value real life experience and put words into action rooted in making a substantial difference.

@Nov 4, 2020 7:11 PM

Fred Hampton was a civil rights activist in Chicago in the 1960s. He was a leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as a Youth Council leader, as well as the Black Panther Party (BPP) as the deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the BPP. He and another BPP member, Mark Clark, were murdered in December of 1969 by officers who shot him and his pregnant fiancée in their sleep; Fred Hampton had been drugged prior to his murder. Hampton was 21 years old at the time of his death.

The BPP is an abbreviation for the Black Panther Party, a political organization created in Oakland, California in the mid-1960s by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton. The original purpose of the BPP was to counteract excessive police brutality in predominantly Black neighbourhoods. Eventually, the BPP evolved into a group focused on revolutionary causes. The BPP, at its peak, included upwards of 2,000 people and had chapters in numerous major American cities.

Fred Hampton's quotes are statements about putting theory into practice. "Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer" and "I [do not] care how much theory you got" represent Hampton's belief that theory on its own is entirely "irrelevant". To be useful, that theory must be put into practice. This can be related to Dr. Kendi's dualism of racist vs. anti-racist. To be educated on theory and to have earned many degrees may make one non-racist, but it does not make one anti-racist. To be anti-racist, according to Hampton's quotes, it is not enough to be knowledgeable. It is necessary to take that knowledge and put it into practice for it to be consequential.

@November 4 at 8:45 PM

Hi ___,

I loved your response. I personally had some trouble understanding what Hampton meant in his quotes in the beginning and after reading your answer I understand a whole lot better now. In order for theories to be considered they need to be applied into certain circumstances to see if they actually work. In the past this practice has never been implemented which led to incorrect research which influenced negative attitudes.

@Nov 4, 2020 7:49 PM

Fred Hampton was an active leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and later became the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. On December 4, 1969, Fred Hampton was assassinated by the FBI.

The Black Panther Party was formed in 1966 and was an African American revolutionary organization that aimed to patrol Black neighbourhoods and Black residents from police brutality. The BPP also ran various social programs and fought for things like the release of Black people in jail and compensation for centuries of exploitation.

Hampton’s two quotes are related and express ideas about taking knowledge and theory and practicing it and acting on it. It does not matter how much one knows or what theories one believes can make an impact; such theories and knowledge are meaningless and irrelevant if one does not actually do something about it and apply it to real world experiences. As well, putting theories into practice teaches people and helps them learn from possible mistakes. Learning from these mistakes and improving in the future can create a greater, more positive impact in the world.

@November 5 at 7:46 PM

Hi ___,

I agree with all the points you made in this post. What stuck out to me the most because I never thought of this is that putting your knowledge into practice can help you to learn from your mistakes. It not only can create a more positive impact on the world like you said but I also think it can allow people to relate more to people. This way people will know what it is like to be in that situation and they now have the knowledge to guide their peers through it.

@Fri at 8:53 PM

Hi ___, I enjoyed reading your post. I liked how you mentioned the fact that "putting theories into practice teaches people and helps them learn from possible mistakes. Learning from these mistakes and improving in the future can create a greater, more positive impact in the world". I agree completely with this statement and I think it connect to something Dr. Kendi discussed in the video. He explained that mental exhaustion can stop people from speaking out against racism, but he explained that instead we need to focus less on making a mistake or saying something wrong, and instead be willing to own up to them and change (Kendi, 2020).

@Nov 4, 2020 8:42 PM

Who is Fred Hampton, the BPP, and what does he mean by these two quotes? [Speech (delivered at Oliver Church, 1969) "Power Anywhere Where There's People"]

Fred Hampton was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He came to be a chairman of the Illinois chapter of the BPP or Black Panther Party. Which was a Black political organization.

1. "Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." P.1

I believe he means here that racism can come at many degrees. Meaning that people can have various degrees of racist beliefs, like some people may be more racist than others. The second half of this quote may mean that without practice in becoming anti-racist then you will never be able to come anti-Racist, it takes practice in order to multitask like chewing gum and walking across the street. The same way practice is needed to multitask something like anti-Black racism.

2. "I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

To me this means that without any practice applied to a theory then that theory is irrelevant. If you want a theory to be applied to specific places you have to practice it. In order to explain for example, racism or why people believe some races are better than others, you need to apply that theory somewhere before it can be considered and other people will use it. In the past people have believed theory with no proof other than that it was a 'scientists word', so in order to prevent that from happening anymore Hampton is saying the theory must be applied somewhere. That there has to be proof the theory is true before others go by that theory.

@November 5 at 1:54 PM

Hello ___!

I really appreciated your insight on these two quotes, your first analysis especially challenged me to think of the quote in a new way.

I had originally seen this quote as a way to challenge how we think about historical significance and saw "you can have as many degrees as a thermometer" as Hampton's illustration of knowledge. However, I also agree with your interpretation that he is directly relating this quote to anti-racism and how we must shift alternate ways of thinking.

Similarly, I also saw the second quote to be telling of connecting practice to theory. I believe it is necessary for us to seek out real-world experience to problems we are studying and when we can not, listen to those who have. I completely agree that Hampton is suggesting we challenge fact and look to evidence rather than blindly following what we are taught.

@November 5 at 2:03 PM

Hi ___!

I agree that racism comes in many different degrees, as some people have more violent and severe racist beliefs than others. Since racism can be rooted so deep and severely, without practicing anti-racism on an everyday basis, you can never become an anti-racist.

I agree that without some form of proof that a theory has worked before, people will not be tempted to also use the theory. Therefore, to prove that a theory works you must practice it to be able to have something to back up what you are saying.

@Nov 4, 2020 9:44 PM

Fred Hampton was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He was initially a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Fred later became attracted to the Black Panther's ideology. Soon after, he became chairman of the Illinois branch of the Black Panther Party. He helped to form a non-aggression pact between the gangs in Chicago. The Black Panther Party (BPP) was founded by Huey Newton and active from 1966-1982. It was an African American revolutionary leftist organization. It was made for the protection of African American neighborhoods from police brutality.

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." P.1

In my opinion, this quote means understanding our way of thinking when applying it to our everyday life. We can have as much knowledge as we want, but without practicing that knowledge, we cannot preach Black rights; in order to apply the experience/knowledge, we must practice it for it to work. For instance, in the case without practicing, we cannot complete a primary task like chewing gum and walking. In relation to that example, understanding Black rights and supporting Black lives, individuals must practice what they are delivering. It's not only about talking and spreading awareness through a post on social media; It's about actually acting in what your preaching, whether it's donating and supporting Black-owned business, showing full support.

"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it doesn't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

In my opinion, this quote means you can support and preach a theory as much as you please but are you showing proper understanding and trying to make a change? With any practice, you preach an approach applied must be practiced as it shows your full knowledge. With any theory you undertake, you will make mistakes. When you make a mistake, you correct that theory as it shows your learning and growing process.

@Nov 4, 2020 10:48 PM

Fred Hampton was an active leader within the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1968, he joined the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP), rising quickly to a leadership position soon after. The meaning of the first quote applies to how degrees do not matter if you do not have experience. Without practice, participation and observation, you can't utilize them to the best of their abilities. The second quote is similar to the first in how you need practice in order to use the theory that you have. Although one may have a significant quantity of theory, it is irrelevant in the hands of no experience. By practicing the theory, it can become your most powerful weapon due to the experience that you accumulate.

@Nov 4, 2020 11:16 PM

Fred Hampton was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He was also an active leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and led their Youth Council of the organizations West Suburban Branch. Fred joined the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP). The BPP was an African American revolutionary party whose original purpose was to patrol African American neighborhoods to protect residents from acts of police brutality. Fred soon held a leadership role by becoming the deputy chairman of Illinois chapter of the party. He organized rallies, established a free breakfast program, and negotiated a peace pact among rival gangs. Fred became a focus of an FBI investigation and he, along with another member of the BPP were murdered. Four other members in the apartment were injured and shot once, however, the police shot at them 90-99 times and the one gun shot that was fired, was fired after the police had starting shooting. Fred was drugged by a man working with the FBI and was mostly unconscious while this was happening and was shot 3 times. The first shot did not kill him, so the officer shot him two more times in the head; he was sleeping next to his eight-month pregnant fiancé.

Quote 1: "Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time."

In this quote, he is saying that you can have all the degrees in the world but if you don’t have the years of practice and hard work behind it, you can’t apply any knowledge or use it towards anything. With certain things, you must learn by seeing it and practicing it and use the many degree’s you may have.

Quote 2: "I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it doesn’t have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

In this quote, Hampton is saying that it does not matter that you have theory, theory only gets you so far. You need to have a whole bunch of practice. An example was explained through his speech. He explained that with all the different degree’s and theories that he had, trying to distinguish where the noise from a car was coming from, the way he figured it out was by taking apart different engines one by one. He finally found out which part it was and told himself that next time he hears that sound, he will know to take out that part first. When you have a theory, you need to practice it. Yes, you will make mistakes but that is a good thing because those mistakes will eventually perfect your theory, and when you have corrected your theory, you can apply it easily to anything.

These quotes are very similar because they both relate to the fact that you need to have practice to for your degree to matter or to even be able to apply it. The first quote stresses more that the amount of degrees you have or the number of things you think you know, means nothing if you have not been working constantly on it. Even though you think you have this powerful title, you need to prove what you know, to prove your even worthy of having that title. The second quote is more about how it does not matter if you were taught all these theories, if you have not actually used them or again, applied them, those theories mean nothing. It reminds me of memorizing things. It is easier to memorize something when you understand, not just memorizing a definition. If you understand the definition, it will be a lot easier to memorize.

@Nov 5, 2020 3:11 AM

Fred Hampton was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He was a chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in Chicago, and deputy chairman of the national BPP. The BPP stands for the Black Panther Party and it was a Black power political organization founded by college students.

The quote “because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." means that no matter how many degrees you have you can’t be successful in it without practice. You could have one degree and be more successful than a person with many degrees and no practice.

The quote "I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it doesn't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it." means that without practice, the knowledge you have is irrelevant. Let’s say you go to school studying to get the job you want. Even though you spent 4 years in school learning about it, you still need on the job training and experience, which is practice. You need to practice the theory for it to be relevant.

@November 5 at 3:24 AM

You cannot break down a system that is made to oppress others just by knowing about the system. It is not enough to say "I am not a racist", you must show it. You must practice what you know to see a change.

@November 5 at 4:51 PM

Hi ___,

I enjoyed your post very much, I agree with your points regarding both quotes. I liked your clear and concise explanations as well as your examples. You are correct, someone who learns without training is bound to have a lesser performance than someone with a lot of training in a certain field of expertise. Imagine the differences in ability between a surgeon who only learned by studying a book versus a surgeon who has had lots of real life experience in surgeries. Who would you feel more comfortable with performing an operation on you? The same concept applies to the topic of non-racists versus anti-racists. Simply knowing how to be "not racist" is not enough to combat racism, we must work hard towards being an anti-racist. Like Hamilton's quotes suggest, practicing our theories and degrees in terms of anti-racism is something we should all strive for in order to be a true anti-racist.

@Nov 5, 2020 1:44 PM

Fred Hampton was an active leader in the NAACP where he led the Youth Council of the organization’s West Suburban Branch. Hampton joined the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1968 where he quickly rose to a position of leadership, becoming the deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Party. Hampton was involved in organizing rallies, establishing a Free Breakfast Program, and negotiating a peace pact among rival gangs. Unfortunately, as a rising leader in the BPP, he became the focus of an FBI investigation. In 1969, Fred Hampton was murdered due to foul play carried out by the FBI as well as the Chicago Police.

The BPP, or the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was founded in California in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. The party had an ideology of Black nationalism, socialism, and armed self-defence, specifically against police brutality. The BPP was part of the Black Power movement led by Martin Luther King, Jr. The party’s name was inspired by the use of the black panther by an independent black political party in Alabama.

Fred Hampton says, “Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don’t have any practice, they you can’t walk across the street and chew gum at the same time.” I think what Hampton means is that some life skills require practise and participation to be able to master them. So, you can have degrees or higher levels of education and knowledge, but that doesn’t automatically mean that you have the skill to do everything else in life. While some people believe that higher education is the only way to succeed in life, Hampton believes that practice and participation are more important in some ways. Hampton, also states, “I don’t care how much theory you got, if it don’t have any practise applied to it, then that theory happens to be irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practise it.” I think connecting to the last quote, Hampton is saying that knowing what a theory means is not useful if you are not able to apply that theory to real-life situations and use it accordingly. Without practicing the theory you preach, the theory becomes unconnected and useless.

@Nov 5, 2020 3:50 PM

Fred Hampton was an African American activist who served as the chairman of Chicago’s Black Panther Party. The Black Panther Party was a political organization dedicated to protecting American residences from police brutality and creating social programs to help marginalized neighborhoods.

Fred Hampton was a revolutionary and inspiring socialist who was identified as a radical threat by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1967. On December 4th 1969, the police raided Hampton’s apartment while he and his fiancé, Deborah Johnson, were asleep. Hampton was shot and killed in his bed, leaving his pregnant fiancé a widow who had to raise their son alone

Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time.

In his revolutionary speech Power Anywhere Where There's People, Fred Hampton speaks about the importance of taking action to create social change. Education, self reflection or ‘degrees’ don’t mean anything if you don’t put your knowledge to use. This also connects to How to be an Anti-Racist where Dr. Kendi states the importance of focusing on policy rather than ideas because fighting racism requires power, not just knowledge.

I don’t care how much theory you got, if it doesn’t have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to be irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it.

To me, I believe this quote has a similar message as the previous quote. Again, Hampton speaks about the importance of action rather than just theory and education. It’s much easier to take part in self-reflection, social demonstrations and performative activism. Although (some) of these can be useful to spread awareness about racism education, it’s more important to ‘walk the walk’ and take action by advocating for policy change.

links used

https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/assassination-of-fred-hampton

https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/power-anywhere-where-theres-people-fred-hampton

@November 5 at 4:39 PM

Hi ___! Great discussion post! I especially appreciate how you highlighted that the quotes emphasizes the importance to 'walk the walk' and taking action by advocating for policy change. I also really like how you related it back to Dr. Kendi's 'How to be an Anti-Racist', and the statement on how one needs power to combat racism, not just knowledge. Great job!

@Fri at 4:37 PM

Hey ___, thank you for your comment :D I'm glad you liked my connection to How to be an Anti-Racist, Dr. Kend's book was the first thing that came to mind when I read Hampton's speech

@Fri at 12:12 AM

Hey ___!

This was a great discussion post and I especially liked how you connected back to our readings from Kendi's book in how one needs power and knowledge to combat racism. As said by Kendi " once we lose hope, we are guaranteed to lose", by believing and ignoring all the odds, we too can fight for an anti-racist world. Because in the end, when we are hopeful for humanity, it gives a chance for us to live in communion and to be finally free.

@Fri at 4:48 PM

Hello ___!

I love the quote you related to my post and your message about fighting as an anti-racist against all odds. I feel like this message is hopeful and promising yet difficult to believe in and it's nice having the reminder that it is part of the process towards a more equitable world.

Thank you again for reading, I hope you enjoy your weekend :)

@Nov 5, 2020 4:36 PM

Fred Hampton was an African American activist who campaigned for social and political change in terms of treatment towards Black Americans. He held positions of leadership in the movement called the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People(NAACP), as well as key leadership roles in the Black Panther Party. The Black Panther Party(which was originally known as The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a political organization that was created to enforce Black power. This organization was created to raise awareness of injustice towards Black Americans, and to ensure that the rights of Black people are not being infringed upon.

1. The first quote means that you could have a lot of education and knowledge on something, but if you do not practice what you learn in real life situations, then you truly do not actually have real knowledge and understanding on the topic. You could have all the degrees in the world but if you are not practicing the theories that you learn then it is basically useless. For example, one could learn a lot on Anti-Black racism and how to combat it, but if they don't practice what they've learned when they come face to face with an incident of anti-Black racism, then they practically wasted their time learning the things that they did.

2. This quote tries to send the same message as the first one. If you practice/use what you've learned, then it has become a waste of time. Fred Hampton for example, practiced the theories that he learned in pre-law in order to combat the infringement of rights that Black Americans are victim to. He ensured that he used his knowledge to fight for something he believed in. Likewise, he encourages others to practice the theories that they have learned to fight for something they believe in.

@Fri at 9:46 AM

Hi ___,

I enjoyed readings your discussion post! I definitely agree that while we can attain knowledge unless we actually apply that knowledge it's useless. I really liked how you gave the example about challenging anti-Black racism. With everything we have learned about challenging anti-Black racism we to be able to apply in when we are confronted. Since without applying it nothing will change.

@Fri at 6:21 PM

Hi ___!

I agree with you; the quotes are pretty similar to one another but can be applied in different contexts. I like how you commented about Fred Hampton practicing theories he learned in pre-law to assist in the movement. Titles only go so far; it's when hands-on knowledge is applied does it then make a difference.

@Nov 5, 2020 4:42 PM

Fred Hampton was a leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP). He orchestrated rallies, created a Free Breakfast program, and he negotiated a peace pact among rival gangs in the area.

1. From this quote, Hamilton is referring to the fact that some people can be specialized in something and have a degree, but if they have not had any real-life practice, their degree is useless. He argues that without seeing or participating in your specialty, you are not enforcing the validity of your degree. He states that you can have "as many degrees as a thermometer" but without any practice, your degrees have no power.

2. This quote is similar to the last quote in reference to practice. Hamilton argues that a person may study many theories to become a professional in their specialization, but if they do not practice their theories, they become irrelevant. He suggests that people must practice whatever theories they follow in order to solidify them.

In the bigger picture, both of these quotes can be related to Ibram X. Kendi's arguments about non-racists versus anti-racists. You may consider yourself a non-racist, but if you do not apply your degrees and theories about racism, you will not have any valid practice in anti-racism. It is not enough to simply be non-racist, you must put work and effort in to becoming an anti-racist.

“Fred Hampton (August 30, 1948 - December 4, 1969).” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, 2020, www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/individuals/fred-hampton.

@November 5 at 7:53 PM

Hi ___,

I also realized how these quotes can be related to Kendi's book as I was reading through some discussion posts and I am really glad you mentioned it in your post. I think it is really important realizing this especially in this course because I strongly feel that this idea of non-racist versus anti-racist should be one of the biggest take aways from this class in my opinion. As you said it is not enough just to be a non-racist.

@Nov 5, 2020 5:19 PM

Fred Hampton is an American activist and was the deputy chairman of the Black Panther Party. Fred was tragically murdered at the age of 21 in a raid. In my opinion these quotes are getting at the same idea. I believe these quotes are discussing the fact that we can learn as much as we want, whether that be in our educational career or even just learning from our peers. It is not so much of this new knowledge you have learned that matters but rather it is what you then go and do with this knowledge that really counts. That being said, the ideas presented in this quote are very important in relation to this class, especially because we are now at our last module. I believe all of us must take the information we have learned and put it to good use in whatever way you see fit, or what was really the point in taking a class about challenging anti-Black racism if when we leave this class we don’t actually go out and challenge it?

@November 5 at 10:09 PM

Hey ___,

I really liked reading your post! I really like how you incorporated this class as an example. I agree, if we do not take our knowledge from this class and apply it to the real world, there was no point in taking this class at all. We may have had knowledge about racism and anti-racism before taking this course, but if we do not start making changes within ourselves and our communities with the knowledge we have learned, it is almost as if we did not take this class to begin with.

We have the privilege of education in our country which is why I believe it is so important for us to value what we learn and use it to our advantage in the future and outside of class. We can never be too educated.

@Fri at 9:23 AM

Thank you for the reply,

Thank you for mentioning the privilege we have in this country when it comes to education. I believe it is always important to acknowledge this and understand that not everyone has this privilege. This makes the reason to use what we learned in this class even more important.

@Nov 5, 2020 6:36 PM

Fred Hampton was an active leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People(NAACP), activist and revolutionary socialist. Hampton was also the deputy/chairmen for the Black Panther Party (BPP). In the process of expanding the BPP by combining the current BPP and the Southside street gang, Hampton was shot by Chicago police while sleeping in his home.

1. "Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time."

When reading this Quote, it means with all of the knowledge and education you have achieved throughout your life, if you don't practice, experience or see what you learn, you will never truly understand. In life, to become an expert in any field, you must have years of experience. Sitting in a classroom doesn't grant you full knowledge than to physically do the job. To stand up for Black rights and Black Activism, you must physically do the same actions you are preaching.

For example, Who would you most likely trust:

Someone with a Medical Degree and over 10 years of experience.
or
Someone with Medial, Ph.D., and Masters degree but is fresh out of school?

2. "I [do not] care how much theory you got. If it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

This Quote is defiantly tied into the first. Practice what you Preach. If nothing is practiced, then the information learned is irrelevant. It would be best if you learned to correct your mistakes to grow and understand. Error is a massive part of life. With everything a person knows, you must, yourself, put it to the test so you can gain new lessons and carry new experiences.

@November 5 at 7:39 PM

Hi ___,

I really enjoyed your post, I especially liked the example you gave after the first quote. This really puts the idea of the quotes into perspective and makes you realize how truly important experience is. Without experience or using what you learned in real life situations can you really call yourself an expert in that field? I think it is also important to highlight what you said about practice what you preach and how this has a strong relation to challenging anti-Black racism. If you are not being a true advocate then you can't really be an anti-racist as Kendi discusses in his novel.

@November 5 at 11:11 PM

Hey ___,

I also agree that the two quotes are tied together, both focusing on the importance of applying your theory in order for it to mean something. I especially liked the example you put for the first quote, it really makes for a better understanding of what he means by adding a real-life connection.

@Fri at 12:47 AM

Hello ___!

Practice what you preach summarizes Hampton's second quote really well. I think it fits in with the narrative of Dr. Kendi's book -to be an anti-racist requires doing, and actively challenging racism through your actions. If there's no substance behind our words, or actions that back them up, they're performative, and don't amount to anything.

@Nov 5, 2020 7:41 PM

Fred Hampton was an American Activist and a leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), he led the youth council of the organization’s West Suburban Branch. In November 1968, he joined the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and quickly moved into the leadership position of deputy chairman. There he organized rallies, negotiated a peace pact with rival gangs, and started a free breakfast program. He was a target of the FBI and on December 4, 1969, he was murdered. The Black Panther Party (BPP) was created to defend Black people against police brutality in Black neighborhoods, then turned into a Marxist revolutionary group.

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, then you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time."

I believe this quote means, you can have all the education in the world, but if you are not using that education properly then it is as if you have nothing. Some people are very smart, but they do not know how to apply it, which makes it useless.

"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

Both quotes are quite similar, you might have common sense, but if you do not use it and share it with others, it is pointless. When you have the knowledge you just effectively use and share it or else what is the point in having it anyways.

I really enjoyed this last module topic and quotes, I think it is a great way to come to the end of our course. Reflecting on these last quotes, it is very important that we (all of you reading this) use the knowledge we have learned in this course and apply it to our everyday lives. No more being “not-racist,” it is time to be “anti-racist.” No matter how little racism impacts you, you must do what you can to counter it and become an antiracist because it definitely impacts someone else around you that might not know how to stick up for themselves. This will not be easy and we will not see immediate results, it is going to be a slow process, but that does not mean that your contribution is not doing anything.

@November 5 at 10:25 PM

Hey ___,

I enjoyed your post and agree with what you have stated. These quotes really come hand-in-hand with each other as they are both implying that we must practice what we learn, or else the time and money spent on education are practically useless. While a lot of people are "book smart", being able to apply your knowledge on many different aspects of life is what really makes you "smart". For example, you want to be able to practice what you learn when having a conversation with others. Knowledge is not just used when taking a test.

I like your memo in the end. Being "not racist" is VERY different from being "anti-racist". Like you said, being anti-racist may benefit those around you, without you even knowing. You can sit back and watch people be racist but without doing or saying anything, I believe that it is just as bad as being racist yourself. In the end, a little goes a long way and you never know who you will be educating or helping.

@Nov 5, 2020 10:05 PM

Fred Hampton was an African-American activist and a revolutionary socialist, who was unfortunately murdered alongside his fellow Black Panther, Mark Clark. Hampton was an active leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). In November of 1968, Hampton joined the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP), in which he shortly became the deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Party. Being one of the most famous rising leaders in the BPP, Hampton became the main target of an FBI investigation. In December of 1969, Hampton was murdered after being drugged by William O’Neal, an FBI officer. While lying unconscious from the sleeping drug, officers raided his home and shot him once. When an officer realized that he was only wounded and not dead, he was shot twice more in the head, killing him.

I believe Hampton’s first quote is talking about having an educational degree and only being able to use it by practicing it. Like a thermometer, an individual can have many different degrees. A high school degree, a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, etc. This quote is trying to say that regardless of what educational degree you earn, it is useless without being able to practice your knowledge and apply it in the real world. If an individual does not practice their degree, it is essentially useless to them.

I believe Hampton’s second quote is a critique of academic ivory towers where critical theories are discussed in highly abstract and conceptual manners. In many ways this applies to race theory, theories on justice and class theory. This quote is saying that theorists cannot think about certain theories without having a situation to apply it to. A theory is irrelevant if it cannot be applied to real world issues. Theorists must be able to practice and apply theories to situations in which there is both a problem and solution. Otherwise, it is irrelevant. Theories must be applied through trial and error, and each time the theory is applied and improved, it only works better.

Fred Hampton (August 30, 1948 - December 4, 1969)

https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/individuals/fred-hampton

@November 5 at 11:23 PM

Hey ___,

I also believe that if you cannot use your degree for what it is meant to be used for, then there is no point in having it. Fred Hampton gave an example of a situation in California, where there were a lot of people dying at a four-way intersection, and people went to the government for help but they were denied any help. When people go to the government with a concern regarding the lives of many people, they should receive some sort of help or reassurance but in this situation, this was not the case. The government officials did not "practice" their degree.

@Fri at 11:13 AM

Hey ___,

Thanks for responding! I like the example you gave, the government officials do not practice their law degree or their job requirements. As citizens, we must feel comfortable and safe in our lives but if the people with power do not help us, what is the point of them having power?

@Nov 5, 2020 11:08 PM

In summary, Fred Hampton was an American Activist and socialist. He was an active leader for the NAACP and quickly became the chairman of the Black Panther Party aka BPP. The Black Panther Party was an African American revolutionary party that was originally created to protect Black neighborhoods and the individuals living there against police brutality. They slowly became more than a protection group and started to advocate for equal rights and challenge anti-Black racism within the legal system and America in general.

I believe quotes one and two convey the same message. In quote one the line "Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer.", is referring to school degrees, saying that the majority of people use your level of education to measure your intelligence but without practice, these theories or these degrees, no matter the amount or level, mean nothing if you don't apply to the world. One person can regurgitate countless facts and theories but without having anything to challenge it in order to make it evolve, it then becomes unreliable. Only until you apply the practice to what you preach, then you are able to use it in any situation.

@Fri at 11:27 PM

Hey ___,

I totally agree with your point stating that people usually determine one's intelligence by the amount of years they spent in school or the amount of degrees they have although that may not always be the case as some of these individuals lack the skills which come with practicing the information learnt when it comes time to apply them elsewhere than their books and in class.

-___

@Nov 5, 2020 11:16 PM

Fred Hampton was an active leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). Fred Hampton joined the Black Panther Party (BPP) in 1968, he quickly became one of the leaders of the party. Fred Hampton was the deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the party, he organized rallies, created a free breakfast program, and preached peace to rival gangs to diminish violence. Fred Hampton was assassinated by the FBI whilst asleep in his house alongside his pregnant fiance.

The Black Panther Party was an African American revolutionary party whose purpose was to patrol African American neighborhoods. to protect residents from acts of police brutality. The BPP quickly became more than just patrolling, soon the BPP was fighting for African Americans to be freed from jail, compensation to African Americans for centuries of exploitation by white Americans, and more. The FBI declared the Black Panther Party a communist group and an enemy of the United States government, they then invaded the house of Fred Hampton and murdered him. The FBI also arrested the rest of the members of the Black Panther Party.

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." P.1

"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

In this quote, Fred Hampton is saying that the people who were "educated" did not fulfill their responsibilities when it came to justice. When Black people asked for justice or help, they kept on denying or delaying them, Fred Hampton is saying that a degree does not hold any value unless it is utilized for its purpose. When Fred Hampton was giving this speech, he gave an example of people dying in a four-way intersection in California, cars were running over them and the people went to the government for help, but the government denied them and kept delaying the matter. So as long as you don't utilize what you have, it does not matter.

Fred Hampton had seen many people with "as many degrees as a thermometer" that did not practice what they had learned, so it made them irrelevant. When people ask you for help in an area that you have mastered and you do not help them, it means that you are not using what you have learned. In other words, you are not practicing your theory.

@Nov 6, 2020 12:25 AM

The Black Panther Party was a far-left political organization that advocated for numerous ideologies, most notably Black pride, gun rights and anti-fascism, as well as challenging police brutality through copwatching and open carrying. One of the deputy chairmen was Fred Hampton, a prominent activist and founder of the Rainbow Coalition. At 21 years of age, Hampton was murdered in a government/police raid but left a powerful legacy behind.

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, then you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time."

Hampton is talking about education versus observation and participation. A degree is not the sole mark of intelligence, and in many situations, doesn't hold up to people who have experience, or who participate. Nobody needs to go to school to be able to act, to have an impact and to use their voice. I think it's a little of walking the walk over talking the talk in terms of gaining that experience and knowledge you can't get from a book or class.

"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

I think this quote supports the narrative of Dr. Kendi's book -it's not enough to be non-racist, you have to be anti-racist. Saying or thinking about what you believe in doesn't equate to much if you don't actively apply those beliefs in your actions. Your thoughts or "theories" don't make an impact if they stay thoughts/theories, and are subsequently irrelevant. If you're going to support something, you have to embody it.

@Fri at 11:52 AM

Hi ___,

Great discussion post! I would agree that while we can all be educated we need to able to participation and act as well. I really liked how you mentioned Dr. Kendi's book in contrast to the quotes. Since it's not enough today to just have learned theories and not put them into use. We need to apply it when we are confronted with challenging anti-Black racism in order to have an impact.

@Fri at 7:55 PM

I think Marlon James did a great overview on the comparison between non-racist and anti-racist, to help us understand that if we truly want to apply "theory" we must actively apply those beliefs, it's not enough to believe in them, because change cannot be made until we take the "theory", apply it, and adjust it as we go.

I thought this week was really neat the way Dr. Kendi, Fred Hampton, and Marlon James were all able to articulate the same point, in different ways to help us understand that it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist to see change.

@Fri at 8:54 PM

Hey ___,

Loved the post, I think its interesting that so many prominent Black figures such as Hampton or Kendi have been saying very similar things for such a long time. It really demonstrates how our society really hasn't made any progress in regards to many issues.

I think that we as a society need to recognize that we haven't progressed very far from the 60s or 70s in many aspects. And then once we realize this we need to do what these activists are saying. We can't stand idle anymore, we need to put the theories into action in order to truly become an equal and equitable society.

@Nov 6, 2020 5:57 AM

Fredrick Allen Hampton was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He came to prominence as chairman of Illinois’s Black Panther Party (BPP), and deputy chairman of the national BPP. In 1967, Hampton was identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a radical threat. The FBI tried to subvert his activities in Chicago. In December 1969, Hampton was shot and killed in his bed during a predawn raid at his Chicago apartment by a tactical unit of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in conjunction with the Chicago Police Department and the FBI; during the raid, Panther Mark Clark was also killed and several others were seriously wounded. In January 1970, jury held an inquest and ruled the deaths of Hampton and Clark to be justifiable homicide. A civil lawsuit was later filed on behalf of the survivors and the relatives of Hampton and Clark. It was resolved in 1982 by a settlement of $1.85 million.

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, then you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time."

According to the lines stated above, it is pretty evident that Fred Hampton was a believer that no amount of degrees and achievement can actually measure the learnings and skills one possesses. For understanding many things, one needs to explore and observe the surroundings. There are few experiences that one cannot “learn”, rather they need to be understood and felt which is only possible when through participation. The real 'knowledge' and 'intelligence' lies in experience and values, and not in degrees.

"I do not care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

According to Fred, people have various theories but they don’t put those to practice. When they don’t apply their theories into real life situations, they become irrelevant and obsolete. Hence, in his speech, he suggests we use our theories and philosophies. It is only when we use we know the mistakes or shortcomings that underly and have an opportunity to modify them. Using these theories definitely helps us in handling daily life problems and makes us wiser and informed.

@Fri at 4:55 PM

Hey ___!

I can agree with every point you made. I like your reference about the Breakfast for Children program. You're absolutely right though, you can't speak about an issue that needs change with no action taken. Just as the quote states, the theory is irrelevant and stagnant until it's practiced.

@Fri at 5:39 PM

Hi ___! In your last point, you mention that it is only when we use these theories, we understand and have an opportunity to modify mistakes. I completely agree with your interpretation of the quote. It's as Dr. Kendi states in his video, confession is the root of anti-racism. We must practice, and use that practice, to create change. As you said, practicing theories definitely helps us in making wiser and informed choices.

@Nov 6, 2020 11:46 AM

Fred Hampton was an activist who was the chairman for the Black Panther Party in Chicago. The BPP was founded by Bobby Seale and Huey P., with the philosophy of revolutionary socialism in mind. To my understanding, the BPP was created to advocate for and protect Black individuals.

1. I interpret this first quote to mean that having a higher education does not make you more capable of leading, and does not validate your oppressive actions. Education does not mean you have the right to create or object to policies initiating change. The individuals experiencing and observing revolutionary actions are the ones who can best practice it, not those who label themselves as more educated as a result of their degree.

2. I interpret this quote to mean that one must actively participate in a 'theory' for it to become practical and applicable to current events. One cannot just speak about an issue that needs change, they must engage with and practice the change that they believe needs to happen, just as the women discussed who participated in the Breakfast for Children program continued to do. (Speech delivered at Olivet Church, 1969)

@Fri at 2:52 PM

Hi ___,

You make some great points. I think there is so much power in lived experiences because it is something you can't teach no matter how many degrees you may have. Speaking about an issue is one thing, but taking action is another. Engaging in change is not just about talking. Being able to walk the walk is a key important part.

@Fri at 2:59 PM

Hello ___!

I really appreciated your view on each quote and completely agree with the fact that education does not equate strong leadership ability. It is important that, while education can provide a valuable base, it is always accompanied by experience and passion. I believe that the quote is also calling into question the place of knowledge in comparison with experience while advocating that those with personal ties are best suited to lead.

I also see the second quote as an effort to turn theory into practice. We often see that meaningful change is increasingly possible after unified efforts. I agree that we must always speak our truth while putting words into action.

@Fri at 6:18 PM

Hey ___!

@Fri at 11:15 PM

Hey ___, yes I 100% agree with you that " higher education does not make you more capable of leading, and does not validate your oppressive actions." . Often times white people are perceived as having a higher intelligence than Black people ( which is untrue ) but even the most educated racists are still just that- racists, their education clearly has not been enough for them to unlearn their twisted mindsets.

@Nov 6, 2020 11:54 AM

Fred Hampton was an activist, revolutionary socialist and the Chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. Hampton was quickly climbing the ranks of the BBP, when on December 4th, 1969, he was shot in his bed in an FBI raid at his Chicago apartment. His death was ruled as justifiable homicide. After revelations about illegal FBI programs surfaced, Hampton’s death is considered an assassination.

The Black Panther Party was a political organization for Black Power founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton. The party was active in the US from 1966 till 1982. The Black Panthers were known for ‘copwatching’, where armed citizens would monitor the behavior of police officers. I think its important to note irony of the fact that in 1967, the Republican Governor of California Ronald Reagan signed in a bill that outlawed public carrying of loaded firearms (the irony being a Republican introducing gun control). This was done as a response to BPP’s copwatching.

The Fred Hampton quotes are from a speech in 1969, where Hampton is explaining people can enact change only by putting their theories into practice. He goes on to give an example of BPP founder Huey Newton and Bobby Seale solving a problem. Where other people were failing to get action. People

“Huey Newton went and got Bobby Seale, the chairman of the Black Panther Party on a national level. Bobby Seale got his 9mm, that's a pistol. Huey P. Newton got his shotgun and got some stop signs and got a hammer. Went down to the intersection, gave his shotgun to Bobby, and Bobby had his 9mm. He said, "You hold this shotgun. Anybody mess with us, blow their brains out." He put those stop signs up. There were no more accidents, no more problem.”

Hampton explains that the people learned by observing Newton and Seale and the next time they did the same themselves. The point of the example was that people learn by example and if someone has an idea you have to put it into practice to show people.

The second quote is also about putting ideas into practice but in the speech, Hampton goes on to say that when we make mistakes, we can correct this theory. This is something Dr. Kendi writes about saying that anti-racists need to be able to self-critique, be flexible correct policies and strategies. (Kendi, 2020: 211)

In this course we’ve learned about power, white supremacy and the history of the idea of race, what is anti-Black racism and how it manifests in daily life and institutions, and now how we can counter it. We have learned the theory, now we have to practice it.

@Fri at 2:49 PM

Hi ___,

You make a great point about learning by example. Putting ideas into practice is a huge part of wanting to make change. Furthermore, the idea of being able to self-critique is so important. We need to actively practice what we are learning and preaching in order to truly be anti-racist.

@Nov 6, 2020 1:36 PM

Fredrick Hampton was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. His prominence started in Chicago as a chairman of the Illinois chapter the Black Panther Party, and deputy chairman of the national BPP. The Black Panther Party or BPP, originally named the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Black Power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. The party was formed on October 1966 in Oakland, California. The BPP accomplished many achievements such as setting up free breakfast for children programs to help solve the food injustice, they also established community health clinics for education and treatment for diseases such as sickle cell anemia, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. The Black Panther Party’s goal was to strive for change for their community.

To start off, dissecting the message in Hampton’s speech ‘Power Anywhere Where There’s People”, this first quote, he is stating that if knowledge through education referenced in this quote as “degrees” isn’t being used through practices then your degrees are not relevant or useful in any way to you. After further researching the metaphor “can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time”, I found that this saying symbolizes someone being unintelligent which is what I think Hampton is trying vocalize to the people. Tying this speech to the time and audience it was directed at, I think the context of the metaphor in the speech was addressing the racist remarks and stereotypes that Black people are inferior to white intelligence. Hampton’s point was that the Black community needs to use their intelligence or “degrees” and put them into practice in their daily lives, to dispel the notion of inferiority of the Black race.

In the second quote by Hampton, he is addressing a similar concept as the previous quote. He is conveying that people need to apply the theories and knowledge they have rather than internationalize it, otherwise the knowledge of the theory is useless. This message is a important one because it would free the people from the stereotype placed on them, and demonstrate the intelligence, theories and beliefs they actually have. This wouldn’t solve the issues of racist stereotypes, but it is a primary step in reshaping society’s perception of the Black race.

@Nov 6, 2020 1:51 PM

Fred Hampton was the leader of the Black Panther Party (BPP) in Illinois and the deputy chairman of the National BPP. He was an activist that fought for black rights in the USA. He was assassinated in December 1969 at the age of 21 by a tactical unit under orders from the Cook County State Attorneys Office, the Chicago Police Department and the FBI.

I believe that both of these quotes are sending the same message, just by using different words. In both quotes Hampton is saying that anyone can have the knowledge of how to do something. But unless they put that knowledge to use, then that knowledge is effectively useless. In the first quote he says that it does not matter how many degrees you have, if you never practice then there is no point to having them. He says something similar in the second quote. Saying that you can learn all of the theory in the world, but if you dont apply it to anything then that theory becomes irrelevant.

You can know the theory of how to fly an airplane, or to drive a car. But unless you actually practice then you won't really be able to drive a car, or fly a plane.

The same applies to fighting racism, you can theorize all you want about ways to fight racism. But unless you actually put those plans and theories into action then you wont be fighting racism at all.

@Nov 6, 2020 2:27 PM

Fred Hampton was an activist in the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). He joined the Black Panther Party (BPP) in November 1968. He rapidly rose through the ranks, becoming the deputy chairman of the party in Illinois. His aim as a leader was to negotiate peace between rival gangs and organize rallies. He also introduced and established the Free Breakfast Program, which to date, is the most extensive welfare program of the United States that provides free meals to children whose families live below the poverty line.

The Black Panther Party was founded in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California. The party consisted of African American individuals who patrolled predominantly African American neighbourhoods to combat police brutality. They also fought for the application of the second amendment (right to own firearms) to the Black community, as well as protest for the release of wrongfully imprisoned African Americans and demand compensation for their exploitation from white Americans.
The two quotes mentioned in the discussion question have been taken from Fred Hampton's speech, "Power Anywhere Where There's People" in 1969. The central idea of the quotes is that one needs to apply the theory learned and their ideologies (anti-racist policies and acts) in society and their life to make a difference because without practising and applying those theories (anti-racism), one's degree (thoughts and ideas/ learning) is irrelevant.

These quotes mainly focus on the contrasting notions of not-racist and anti-racist, discussed by Dr. Ibram X Kendi in his book, "How to be an anti-racist" and TED Talk. Merely stating that you are "not racist" or saying that your family member or friend is a person of colour does not help the growing problems of police brutality, discrimination and systemic racism. Instead, individuals should work on trying to actively combat racism. Fighting against racial bias is what makes an individual anti-racist.

An anti-racist will first hold themselves accountable for their actions and then call others out, whether on a corporate or personal level. They will engage in discussions and debates that typically make people feel "uncomfortable" and attentively listen to people of colour describe their struggles. A degree in social justice or racial inequity does not matter until the teachings are applied to real-life to better society. Being aware of racist policies, creating, sharing or signing petitions and educating others are just a few ways to be anti-racist.

@Fri at 2:36 PM

Hi ___,

I completely agree with your response, and found it very insightful that you were able to connect the discussed quotes, to the ideas of Dr. Ibram X Kendi. Putting these together it is clear that just learning and theorizing about ideas and change is not anti-racist, we must actually put these concepts into practice to advocate against racial bias.

@Nov 6, 2020 2:45 PM

Fred Hampton was a very active leader in challenging black racism. He became a part of the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1968 and became a leader of the group shortly after as a deputy chairman for the Illinois chapter of the party. In 1969, after being the focus of an FBI investigation, Fred, along with a fellow Black Panther named Mark Clark, was murdered in his own apartment.

The first quote mentioned above is a very inspiring quote meant to encourage members of not just the Black community but everyone to stand up for what's right. There are many people in this world who have multiple 'degrees.' Personally, I don't think that Fred Hampton was necessarily referring to people with many degrees but rather was using degrees as a symbol for knowledge. For example, when a doctor of medicine with multiple degrees but doesn't practice their craft is useless. They might have incredible amounts of knowledge about health and wellness but has never seen a patient and wouldn't know what to do with them. To put it simply, would you trust a surgeon to perform your surgery if they have never held a scalpel before? The answer would be no and this is because individuals with a lot of knowledge but no practice are basically incompetent. So when it comes to applying this to the world of challenging racism, there are basically two kinds of people who are 'against' racism. As mentioned in the module, there are those that are 'non-racist' and those that are 'anti-racist'. Those that are 'non-racist' may have knowledge about how detrimental racism is to our society but they don't do anything about it; they don't practice their knowledge. These kinds of people are like the surgeon who has never touched a scalpel. In order to be an anti-racist, you need to go out a do something! You need to practice what you know and make a change in this world even if it's just a small change to start with.

The second quote I think is very similar to the first quote with regards to being an anti-racist by practicing our knowledge. In this quote, however, it uses a different symbol so instead of it being the number of degrees it a theory. When a scientist comes up with a theory, they can't just sit there and do nothing about it, they need to actually create experiments with different variables in order to prove their theory correct. When we as human beings realize that there is an issue with racism in our society we can't just sit on our hands and do nothing about it like a scientist who has a theory but doesn't test it, we need to be vocal and cause change.

@Nov 6, 2020 2:46 PM

Fred Hampton was an active leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. His activism led him to become the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. The Black Panther Party was an African American revolutionary party founded in 1966 in Oakland, California. Their original purpose was to patrol African American neighborhoods from police brutality and later developed into a Marxist revolutionary group.

In the first quote, Fred Hampton is saying that no matter how many degrees you can have and how highly educated you may be, with some things, you can only learn by seeing, participating or experiencing it. I think this is very true when it comes to oppression and injustice. You can be educated on many levels, but when it comes to applying it in practice, it isn't always easy.

In the second quote, Fred Hampton builds on the first quote, that theory isn't set in stone nor 100% accurate. Without real life practice, a theory can only go so far. By applying practice to it, even when we make mistakes our theories can be corrected.

@Fri at 11:22 PM

Hey ___,

I defiantly agree with your statements on some things being learnt by the acts of seeing, experiencing and participating as I feel that this reminds me of the different learning styles and I can definitely apply these styles to myself as I have often used them before. You are also spot on about it being hard to applying what your knowledge in terms of justice as not everyone is ready to take those steps

-___

@Nov 6, 2020 4:10 PM

Fred Hampton is an activist in the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). He was primarily in charge of leading their youth council and became apart of the Chicago section of the Black Panther Party (BPP) in the winter of 1968. Due to his mass involvement in rallies and status as an influential leader in the BPP, he was murdered.

From what I understand, the first quote is referring back to the first part of his speech where he mentions how with some things learning is done by seeing or participating as opposed to earning degrees or knowledge from an institution. Hence how his metaphor to attaining as many degrees as a thermometer in this quote emphasizes his point even further. He then gives an example of how you can't complete a task, in this case, chewing gum and while walking across the street, without any practice. The overall message from this quote is that we need to go out and experience/participate in activities to teach ourselves and others.

The second quote is a follow up to the message in the first quote but a bit more personal. Hampton is more interested in the results from theories made by institutions or people with degrees because without it he doesn't believe they obtain any relevance. For instance, psychologists who come out with theories have mass amounts of evidence, research, and results to sustain their observation. In this case, Hampton is looking for the same kind of information and practice to back up a theory.

@Nov 6, 2020 5:19 PM

Fred Hampton was an activist/revolutionary socialist and was a chairman of the Black Panther Party (BPP). The Black Panther Party was a Black Power political organization, formed by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in 1966. The organization aimed to challenge police brutality in African American communities.

After watching Marlon James’ video, Non-Racist vs Anti-Racist, and Ibram X. Kendi’s video, Difference Between Non-Racist and Anti-Racist, as well as the Haitian Revolution on Crash Course, I believe Fred Hampton is stating that we must practice what we preach in order to succeed and progress in society. He states, “because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer,” relaying that you can hold a mass amount of power and information. However, he continues by saying, “if you don’t have any practice, then you can’t walk across the street and chew gum at the same time,” stating that unless we put that power/information to work, and practice it, we will never be able to do something as simplistic as chewing gum and crossing the street. It’s as if to say, practice what you preach, otherwise, you’re remaining a non-racist, oppose to an anti-racist.

The second quote resonates with the first one, restating that if an individual isn’t willing to put forth their knowledge, then there is no use in learning it in the first place.

I quickly connected these two quotes to this ARTS130 course. I have learned so much valuable information on Black history and how to challenge anti-Black racism. If I was to withhold this information, and not use what I know to spread awareness and create change, what would be the point in taking the course in the first place? With everything I know now, I can apply it to the very real racial injustices occurring in society today.

Ibram X. Kendi states that the core of racism is denial, while the core of anti-racism is confession. The Haitian Revolution brings forward this idea that by acting on what we know is right, we can create change. Just as the quotes relay, it’s up to us to be that change and use our knowledge to admit to racism in order to build an equitable society.

@Fri at 5:51 PM

Hi ___,

I really enjoyed your post and thought it was very well said. I appreciate how you brought the Haitian Revolution into this post as I to believe it is very fitting. Like you said, without acting upon our knowledge than we can't create change.

@Nov 6, 2020 6:11 PM

Fred Hampton was an activist, socialist, deputy chairman for the national Black Panther Party, and chairmanship of the Illinois state BPP. He was murdered in his Chicago apartment by the police after being labelled as a radical threat by the FBI. He negotiated a non-violence pact amongst Chicago’s most powerful street gangs. He was known for his effective leadership, personal charisma, and organisational skills. His talent as a political leader was remarkable. (Mack, 2008)

Black Panther Party is a revolutionary Black party founded in Oakland California. The BPP’s original purpose was to patrol African American neighbourhoods to protect residents from acts of police brutality. They went on to developed into a Marxist revolutionary group that called for the arming of all African Americans, the exemption of African Americans from the draft and from all sanctions of ‘white America’, the release of all African Americans from jail, and the payment of compensation to African Americans for centuries of exploitation by white Americans. (Duncan, 2020)

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." P.1

I think he’s talking about action vs education, experience vs education. People learn beyond institution, people learn by participation and observation, and institutions shouldn’t go without being analyzed and questioned. Degrees don’t make you qualified, it’s the application and understanding that comes from observation, groundwork, and experience. You don’t need an educated label on your beliefs and values for them to be important, for them to deserve action. Theories are useless without application and practice, you can memorize theories and have several degrees, but that doesn’t equate to on the job experience and application. Fred Hampton had talent and skills beyond what a degree could give him. He learned by doing, his education was continuous and hands on. He taught others his skills, without a degree. He had social skills, negotiation skills, organizational skills, and charisma beyond what any institution could teach, and that’s what made him so successfully influential. This man managed to create a non-violence pact amongst powerful street gangs. The skills and ability to even attempt to make this happen is truly incredible if you think about it. He successfully explained how racial and ethnic conflict would only lead to a continuous stagnant position in poverty, to powerful gang members. A degree in education wasn’t present and needed for him, he had experience, he observed and learned as he went.

"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

He’s talking about the absolute necessity of actually using what you’ve learned, not just framing it on the wall and calling it a day. We’ve learned about theory in this class. We’ve got definitions, a how to book, historical references, and social theories. We need practice and application for these to truly matter and make a difference. Ignorant is the same as educated if there isn’t action, unawareness is the same as awareness if it isn’t influencing your actions, beliefs, if it isn’t being applied. What good is education and theory without follow through?How many people swiped through Instagram stories about white privilege, racial abuse, inequality, police brutality, all of these things in their abstract explanation. What does this do without application? What does this class do without application? It’s lost, it’s the same as not learning anything at all.

References

Duncan, Garrett A. “Black Panther Party.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2 Apr. 2020, www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Panther-Party.

Mack, Dwayne. “Fred Hampton (1948-1969).” Welcome to Blackpast •, Blackpast, 6 Sept. 2019, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/hampton-fred-1948-1969/.

@Nov 6, 2020 6:15 PM

Fred Hampton was an activist and chairman of the Black Panther Party (BPP) in Chicago. He was killed during a raid in his apartment.

1. To me, I interpret this quote as you can possess all the titles or labels but at the end of the day if those titles/labels aren't supported by actions, they're useless. The metaphor of walking across the street and chewing gum at the same time refers to being able to broadcast your accomplishments, whereas chewing gum is to showcase your capability.

2. This quote seems to be similar to the first quote. Again, it can be referring to having these titles/labels but they are completely irrelevant if not backed up. It's saying to utilize your skill or theory to the best of your ability for it to be applicable. This could be related to advocacy. Many people claim to support different movements but are silent and don't make their voices heard when the time comes. So in this case, saying you support a movement is irrelevant until you practice and make it known you're advocating.

@Fri at 9:01 PM

I really liked how you broke down the analogy of chewing gum and crossing the street. It relates to the idea of "talking the talk" but also "walking the walk"; titles, knowledge, and theories don't mean much if there's no action to back it up.

@Fri at 9:21 PM

Hi ___, you have made some great points. I like how you mentioned advocacy, and how people claim they support a cause but don't back it up by speaking out or through action (eg. attending protests, donations, voting, creating awareness etc.). I think this connects to something Kendi mentioned in the video, which was that many people experience feelings or emotions of guilt/sadness/anger etc. after hearing or seeing acts of racism, but we need to move past just our feelings and use them to drive us to take action and better our communities (Kendi, 2020).

@Fri at 9:26 PM

Hi ___,

I agree with your interpretations of this quote. I feel like it is saying that you can have all the education in the world but without the experience to back it up, you essentially have nothing.

I always love reading your analysis' of these discussion posts.

@Nov 6, 2020 6:56 PM

Fred Hampton was an African American activist who famously joined the Black Panther Party in November of 1968. Making his way to the leadership position, he initialized multiple organized rallies and protected Black Americans against the fear and harms of police brutality. The Black Panther Party strongly believed that the American government set and enforced laws that systematically oppressed Black citizens, and just like Fred and many others hoped to achieve social change through the acts of national, non-violent activism. The idea to combat racism by forming cross-racial solidarity. Fred Hampton had come under the attention of the FBI and the Chicago police. Fred and another Black Panther Member Mark Clark were assassinated and murdered on December 4th, 1969. If any of you have the extra time, please read fellow student Meeah Leal’s Twitter thread for more information about the Black Panther. https://twitter.com/LealMeeah

Insignificance to Fred Hampton, he gave a speech in 1969 called “Power Anywhere Where There are People.” These are his two quotes interpreted by me.

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." P.1

The practice of political education was significant among the BPP. The free Breakfast for Children program itself was an organization to instill the idea that the recruitment of Black Panther members consisted of those who were able to politically engage themselves in intelligent conversation, to further understand how to mitigate the oppression against them through this organization. Fred himself was an educated man himself, who graduated with honours and majored in pre-law. In my opinion, it seems to me that this quote means, without the understanding and knowledge you have yourself, it would not be possible to understand and physically apply yourself to the activism, because you lack the knowledge of what the activism is truly about.

"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it doesn't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practise it."

As mentioned before, Fred had majored in pre-law. The study of law itself and the courses that surround it is to understand theories surrounding the law. Views from diverse minded philosophers carried out their perception of what made something just (most often in their cases it was referring to the questions of where, why and how law). In this quote, Fred maybe acknowledging that if you have an idea, or in his words, a theory. It is one thing to grasp and understand that theory through knowledge, but the physical application of that theory in modern society is what gives that very theory it’s breaking point. Then you can either prove that theory using society culture as an example or actually implement it into society. Once you’ve set that theory in place, it then becomes a source for activism and a source for people to follow and apply it into systems, their daily lives and especially; governments.

@Fri at 9:26 PM

Hey ___,

Great job on your discussion post; thank you for attaching the Twitter thread about the BPP; I found it very useful. I also really like how you responded to quote two as I agree with your statement on "Once you’ve set that theory in place, it then becomes a source for activism and a source for people to follow and apply it into systems, their daily lives and especially; governments."

Overall this was nicely delivered, great job :)

@Fri at 9:59 PM

Hey ___,

Your interpretation of these quotes was well done! I loved how you included an extra link to further educate us on the BPP. The way you incorporated the idea on how law is based upon theories and acted out within cases was well done it really showed how most theory's are constantly practiced so why not do the same to change the society for the better.

Well done!

@Nov 6, 2020 7:29 PM

Frederick Hampton was an activist as well as a revolutionary socialist. He led the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, and in November 1968, he joined the Chicago chapter of the BPP (Black Panther Party). The BPP was formed due to police cruelty towards Blacks, and their goals are focused on equal education, housing, employment, and civil rights. From then on, he eventually became the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the BPP and deputy chairman of the national BPP. His works consisted of rally organizations and the establishment of a Free Breakfast program. Hampton faced a tragic, cruel death on December 4, 1969. The day before his death, an FBI employed worker slipped a sleeping pill in his drink. Later, the Chicago Police came to his home and shot him to death. They fired 99 times whereas the BPP only shot once.

The BPP addresses various issues regarding anti-Black racism through their 10 point program. They strive to attain freedom and for the Black community to have the ability to determine their own destiny a part from the white supremacist system. They want Blacks to be fully employed and have a higher standard of living. They want the government to repay them for their robbery over decades of slavery and mass murder as the Germans are repaying Jews of their cruelty. They want an education but an education that lets all the truth be known about their history and their mistreatment. They want an education where people learn of the nature of society and its systemic racism. The BPP vocalizes their concerns for the government to actually make changes that can finally confront anti-Black racism.

Fred Hampton’s quotes refer to how knowledge is useless when there’s no action taking place to address these issues. He is speaking of how Whites and their racist governments are not doing anything to change and combat anti-Black racism. They may have an education and degrees, but what is the point if there is nothing done within the federal government to change the systemic racism embedded across all institutions.

Similarly, the second quote also refers to the knowledge and theories they may have. However, it’s all useless in the end if they don’t actually practice that theory. Simply, having a theory doesn't make changes in the lives of Blacks, it’s practice that does. Hence, the government needs to practice and make actions outlined in their 10 point program to combat racism towards Blacks. It is through practice that you are truly able to learn and find mistakes as well. You can practice more and fix those mistakes. For instance, the Breakfast for Children program actually puts their theories into practice which allows for changes. They aided the poor youth living in the city through their provision of food. This program greatly helping children of the Black community and in fact were able to feed more than 10,000 children every day through setting kitchens across US cities. Hence, the Panthers' initiatives and successful practices actually created change in these communities. Thus, degrees and theories don’t mean anything until you’ve actually practiced that knowledge, which is what enables everyone to learn.

Sources:

https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/individuals/fred-hampton

https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/assassination-of-fred-hampton

https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/power-anywhere-where-theres-people-fred-hampton

https://collabyrinthconsulting.com/2016/01/18/excerpt-power-anywhere-where-theres-people-a-speech-by-fred-hampton/

@Fri at 8:50 PM

Great points ___! And these can be applied to the Black community as well. There are many theorists in the Black community who formulate ideas about how to make a positive difference, but then fall short when it comes to action.

For us to see a real difference, everyone must play an active part in making that change.

@Fri at 8:59 PM

Hi ___, I enjoyed reading your posts. You made many great points about challenging racism, and I especially appreciated your explanation about the 10 point program. These ideas are excellent examples of how society, and the government, should be changed to help address systemic racism and work towards equity for the Black community. I think as a community we need to raise awareness and challenge the government and people in positions of power, so that we can actively address the impacts racism has had on the Black community.

@Nov 6, 2020 7:35 PM

Fred Hampton was a leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and joined the Chicago Chapter of the Blank Panther Party where he quickly took on leadership roles and organized rallies, programming and helped bring rival gangs to peace with the BPP. He was later shot dead with 5 others by the FBI. When I read these quotes, I think what he is saying is that you can be incredibly educated, but without first hand experience in the life of those living the reality as a marginalized Black individual, you cannot fully understand that living experience. The way we learn is by observing and participating. When you are fighting for change, you develop a theory on how you can do that. You must continue to practice it in order to better understand how you can improve the theory. If you don't have the application, you can never know how successful the theory can be.

@Fri at 9:59 PM

Hello,

I agree with your post. I think that application of theory is the most educating thing a person can do. I really like how you pointed out that you need practice to know if the theory works or not. I think this is something that a lot of people need to thin about. We learn about so many theories but we never really know if they truly work or not. This is when practice and application comes in handy!

Thank you for sharing!

@Fri at 10:09 PM

Hey ___,

I completely agree with you, when It comes to theories it's most important to learn, observe, and practice to allow change to occur. Without testing the theories it leaves a lot of people feeling unsure if it actually works. Practising and proving how important these theories are will help bring other people to join and practice to eventually make the world a safer place.

Well done!

@Fri at 10:30 PM

Hi ___!

I really like your interpretations of these quotes! You're right, without firsthand experience, you can't understand the experience and in this context education doesn't hold as much power. I think this is something that should be weighted more in society, and your perspective of these quotes was very insightful!

@Fri at 11:08 PM

Hi ___,

I agree with your point about lacking first hand experience about black people, I think you can somewhat understand but not truly know their struggles. People learn by experiencing, a great way non black people can see black issues is at protest where black voices are heard and projected.

@Nov 6, 2020 8:37 PM

Fredrick Allen Hampton was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He came to prominence in Chicago as chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, and deputy chairman of the national BPP. This first quote is talking about how people can achieve many things, however without putting in any effort or time, nothing will happen. You have to learn by participating and being immersed in the situation. If you haven't experienced the problem you won't know how to deal with it. You have to have a plan and act on it without that no change will come and you won't be able to cross the street and chew gum. It also shows how closed-minded people can be only focusing on crossing the street and nothing else. A great example of this is the Haitian Revolution. Plantation owners, we solely focused on economic growth wanting to make the most money, the petit blancs who were poorer white people found it unfair that they couldn't afford slaves as were only focused on leaving France and becoming their own country. The slaves however were lead by Toussaint L'Ouverture a former slave and with this leadership and determination won their freedom. The second quote is talking about how practice is more important than just a random theory with nothing behind it. When you practice you make mistakes and you learn from this and can perfect your theory. This applies to all theories with experiments or trials the theory is useless.

@Nov 6, 2020 8:44 PM

Fred Hampton was the leader of the Chicago Black Panther Party (BPP) which was "an influential force in the Civil Rights era" (Yassine, 2020). The political organization fought against police brutality and oppression of the Black community, and also provided social services (Duncan). On December 4, 1969, Hampton had been drugged and was sleeping, and then was shot by police officers in a raid (Yassine, 2020).

In my opinion, the first quote refers to the fact that formal education doesn't get you anywhere, or create any real change unless you put it into practice. The second quote refers to theory and knowledge that isn't useful unless you use it in action. I think these concepts connect well to this course. We have learned so much throughout the course, but if we don't apply it to our own lives to become anti-racist and challenge our friends and family, it will be difficult to create any change in the fight for equality. Although education is important, we need to use the information we have learned to take action.

In the interview with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, he discussed the difference between being non-racist and anti-racist. Dr. Kendi explained that you are either being racist or anti-racist and that if you are not-racist, you are really just a racist who is in denial. By actually applying what you have learned, you can be an anti-racist, rather than just not-racist. Dr. Kendi mentioned that it takes work and vulnerability to be anti-racist, but that there is "no way we can build a better humanity with the shackles of racism" (Kendi, 2020). I know that I will apply the information I have learned in this course to my own life so that I can be actively anti-racist and challenge the forms of racism present in our society.

Articles:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Panther-Party

https://chicago.suntimes.com/murals-mosaics/2020/11/6/21541254/chicago-murals-fred-hampton-black-panther-party

@Fri at 9:06 PM

Hi ___,

You made a really good point with using this course as an example of applying theory. You are very correct and we need to take what we have learned and use it in our everyday life. Also, the articles that you included were very helpful the video had a lot of great information.

@Fri at 9:12 PM

Hi ___, thanks for reading my post. I am glad you understand my perspective on these quotes. I agree, the articles were very helpful and I learned a lot about Fred Hampton and the BPP

@Nov 6, 2020 9:25 PM

Fred Hampton was an activist who believed in Black power. He was chairman in the Black Panther Party and held prominent rallies and created important advances in gangs (creating a peace pact between rival gangs) and established breakfast clubs. He was murdered by police after an FBI led investigation.

The Black Panther Party was an organization ran originally by students. It's basis was to challenge police brutality and to watch police departments. It ended with organizations across the world. Not only did they focus on police brutality, but they focused on community programs to help people within it's communities.

I think that he means that without practice of education, you simply won't be able to perform correctly. I'm going to relate this to this weeks module in that if you don't practice antiracism, you are simply just non-racist. When you can't correct yourself with the things you have learned, you aren't going to progress. When someone is educated on being antiracist, they need to practice what they have learned or they truly haven't learned anything.

@Nov 6, 2020 9:50 PM

Fred Hampton was an American activist and a revolutionary socialist. He joined the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP), he quickly rose to a leadership position and he became the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the party. He was killed by FBI agents to infiltrate. The agents shot his security guard then shot him while he was unconscious (he was drugged prior to the shootings) and his fiancé who was almost 9 month pregnant who was also sleeping. When it was discovered that the shots only left him injured an agent shot him twice in the head.

What I believe he means by the two quotes stated, is that no matter how many degrees someone might have, or how many theories a person knows, without any practice and application then all you have learned from the books is irreverent. I agree with his statements, without practice and application our learnings in school becomes nothing more than a passing grade. The point is to learn and make a change based on our learnings and to improve, not just to get high grades. I also believe it is important to recognize that sometimes lived experiences can be much more valuable than degrees and theories taught in classrooms/online.

@Fri at 10:44 PM

Hi ___,

I agree with your thoughts on these quotes. I like the example you brought up of comparing it to learning in school, that without any practice or explanation all you're really getting is a passing grade and not gaining any knowledge. That example really put it into perspective for me!

@Nov 6, 2020 9:51 PM

Fred Hampton is an American activist and chairman of the Black Panther Party. He took part in helping Chicago become a safer environment for Black lives. Fred Hampton was later killed by the police in 1969. The Black Panther Party began in 1966 and was designed for self-defence and patrolling of African American neighborhoods for protection of residents from police brutality.

1. This quote resembles how you can have as much knowledge on a topic as you want but without practicing and applying it to your life it’s almost useless. Without practice, you can’t perform simple tasks like the quote says “can’t walk across the street and chew gum” ideally you have the knowledge on how to do it but without actually doing it and practicing nothing happens or changes. You may have knowledge accumulating about how to be an ally of an oppressed group but if you do not apply that knowledge into practices and live by it you cannot be an ally. For change to occur you need to take action. The protests that occurred for BLM is an excellent example of a practice being done. The protesters gathered all their knowledge and applied in ways to help create a difference. This is a similar example to the saying “you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?”

2. This quote was very similar to the first one, you need to practice the knowledge you have and perform through protests, being an ally and spreading awareness. You can learn theories as much as you want but without displaying them and putting them to use it becomes irrelevant information in the back of your mind. A theory is the base of making a difference but to get to the centre/core of the problem it must be practiced while solving problems on the way. A theory is similar to having someone sell you a product and only telling you what it does oppose to showing you what it does, this leaves you skeptical and questioning the product. It all comes down to acting upon the knowledge gained to conquer change.

@Fri at 11:07 PM

Hi ___,

I like your example of the BLM protest as knowledge being put into practice. A lot of people educated themselves this summer and put that knowledge into action. That new knowledge and the self-reflection and change that occurred because of that was great. As we each continue to move towards becoming more anti-racist, like taking this class, more profound and lasting change can become a reality.

@Nov 6, 2020 10:22 PM

Fred Hampton, was an activist, and a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, as well as a member of the Black Panther Party, and he rose to leadership positions in both organizations. In the first quote from one of his well known speeches, Hampton is referring to the fact that an official education, such as a degree in some particular field, doesn't count for everything. As he says, you can have as many degrees as a thermometer, but what really matters is how you act on it, and participate in society with that degree. When he says "if you don't have any practice", this is what he's referring to, as sometimes you have to observe and take action for your degree to mean anything.

The second quote is similar to the meaning of the first, in terms of the emphasis on action. Hampton references practice, and applying practice, because in order to perfect anything you have to constantly participate in it. In this context, being educated on something, or "having theory" doesn't hold a lot of weight because practicing it is more important to get results.

@Fri at 11:16 PM

Hi ___,

I agree with your statement of both the quotes sharing a theme of the hypothesizing and taking the actual steps to prove the hypothesis and love how you tied it to the how to be an anti-racist book as well. Great job!

-___

@Fri at 10:29 PM

Hi ___,

I think your post was beautifully put together. I completely agree with what you said about needing to "observe and take action" in order for what we learn to truly mean anything. Real life is so much different than being in a classroom, we really do need practice to see change.

@Nov 6, 2020 10:24 PM

Fred Hampton was a social activist and chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. He and the BPP fought to combat police brutality and protect Black people from constant threats. Fred was so good at uniting the Black community that the government who did everything they could to push Black people down felt “threatened”. Fred was even identified as a radical threat by the FBI and later murdered by a heavily armed police team after they drugged him to sleep. The “officers” (hitmen) forcibly removed his fiancé who was 9 months pregnant and proceeded to shot at the other BPP member that were present.

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." P.1

I think that he meant that you can be very success in school but if you don’t utilize and practice what you learn it is essentially useless. It’s easy to learn, it extremely difficult to apply what you learn to the world around you to enact change. It’s a reminder that the world is uncontrollable. School is a controlled environment designed to teach you, but no one can control the world or make it adapt to you. You can only practice how you contribute to it and continue to learn from it.

"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

I think this quote is just reiterating what the other one said. It highlights the importance of taking what you have learned and practicing it in your real life. I think it's like what we should do with the knowledge we have gained from this course. We are now knowledgeable on anti-Black racism and the ways that we can combat it. If we do not challenge anti-Black racism what we learned here is what Fred Hampton said, “irrelevant”.

@Nov 6, 2020 10:27 PM

Fred Hampton was an American activist.He was a leader in the National Association for Black people, and he was a leader for Youth Council for the organization. With Hamptom being such an active leader, he became the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP) in Chicago. Where he focused on FBI Investigations along with other things he did such as organizing rallies, developing programs e.g. Free Breakfast program and more. Unfortunately Fred Hampton and many other individuals in the Black Panther Party were murdered. For me, these two quotes combined essentially means you can have as much knowledge you want and know various theories but if you are not practicing them in the real world then they have no use and it becomes irrelevant. With application based theory, and practicing it regularly it will make the change you are intending for.

@Nov 6, 2020 10:37 PM

Fred Hampton was a Black revolutionary, activist, and leader in the Nation Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). Not to mention he was also apart of the BPP, the Black Panther Party, where he became the party’s deputy chairman in 1968. This party was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California in 1966. The party’s purpose was to challenge police brutality against Black people, which eventually turned into protecting Black people facing anti-Black racism in any situation in the United States of America.

1. In the first quote, Fred Hampton is speaking about on how practice is needed to fully understand something. Earlier in the complete quote, Hampton mentions, “… the way they learn is observation and participation.”. Both pieces of this quote go further to explain that even if one has a lot of certified knowledge such as a degree, if one doesn’t practice it, how does one really gain any knowledge? This can be compared to people who claim to be ‘non-racist’ according to Dr. Kendi, those who are ‘neutral’ where their words do not line up with their actions or practices. From what we’ve done so far in this course, we know it is not enough to be not racist but anti-racist.

2. Similarly to the last quote, in the one Hampton is saying to practice any theory or knowledge one has and if the practice wasn’t applied, the theory or knowledge behind isn’t credible enough. Our words need to be accompanied with our actions and practice in order to make not just a change but transformation in our current society. An example that comes to mind is how Dr Kendi explains that anti-racists are able to acknowledge when they have been racist, own up to it, and apologize. Being able to recognize that their words and actions did not align and take ownership to then educate themselves more and truly practice better. Fred Hampton goes on to explain further saying, “And when you practice it you make some mistakes. When you make a mistake, you correct that theory, and then it will be corrected theory that will be able to be applied and used in any situation. Thats what we’ve got to be able to do.”.

@Nov 6, 2020 10:48 PM

Fred Hampton started out at an early age as an activist. He led the youth council for his local chapter of the NAACP and became the leader of the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party. The Black Panther Party was founded in 1966 to protect Black neighbourhoods from police brutality. He was also the deputy chair of the national Black Panther Party. Fred Hampton was a powerful public speaker and tireless fighter for equality and justice for Black Americans. He was murdered at 21 by the federal government who perceived him and his fellow Black Panthers as radical threats.

"Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." P.1

Degrees don’t equate real-life knowledge. This is the reason that so many fields require internships and residencies. Doctors experience life and death situations, you want them to have as much hands on experience before they handle those situations unsupervised. Without experiencing something how will you know for sure that something is right or wrong? I think that it also has to do with confidence. It is easier to be confident doing something you experienced than being confident doing something you’ve only read about. It reminds me of when Dr. Kendi spoke of people's fear of making mistakes. Making mistakes is the process of learning and growing. It is vital to becoming an antiracist. When you make a mistake and learn from it you become more confident and can trust yourself more in another situation.

"I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it."

Theory makes me think of those people who say that they are not racist because they don’t do things that are racist, say slurs, or go to Klan meetings and think that that is enough. It can also be applied to Black people who think that they can’t be racist because they are Black. Both of these groups understand racism, understand that it is bad, and want to be against it, but to be truly anti-racist you need to act anti-racist. Theory is inaction. Theory becomes useless when not used. If you say that you are against racism then you need to do something that is actively fighting racism. You can educate yourself, confront your own racism, and support antiracist ideas and organizations.

@Nov 6, 2020 10:56 PM

Fred Hampton was first a chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, and then deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party. He was murdered by Chicago police during a “raid”, at age 21- his death is widely considered to have been an assassination. During his life of activism, he founded the Rainbow Coalition— an alliance with organizations that had similar goals to the BPP— established a Free Breakfast program, and negotiated an alliance between rival gangs in Chicago.

Both of the above quotes stress the importance of simply thinking vs. actually doing, of action vs. inaction. Hampton’s words remind me a lot of the idea that Dr. Kendi repeats throughout How To Be An Antiracist: that it is not enough to simply be “not racist”, one must actively be antiracist. Simply reading books, for example, does not make a person antiracist. Simply being aware of racism in history, or of the current racist policies that exist in society is not enough. Instead, one has to take the content of those books, take their newfound knowledge and theory, and apply it to their everyday actions, making a conscious effort to be antiracist. As Dr. Kendi puts it, “knowledge is only power if knowledge is put to the struggle for power […] Critiquing racism is not activism. Changing minds is not activism […] If a person has no record of power or policy change, then that person is not an activist” (209).

@Fri at 11:28 PM

Hey ___,

I really liked your idea surrounding "simply thinking vs actually doing" as well as "action vs inaction". I found this to be a really great way of explaining the deeper meaning of Hampton's words. I also found your connection to Kendi's ideas really effective and I definitely can see the alignment.

Thanks for sharing your ideas!

@Nov 6, 2020 11:08 PM

Fred Hampton was an activist and revolutionist; he was a member of the Black Panther Party. The Black Panther Party was a party that believed in giving Black people equal rights to full employment along with reasonable housing and education and, most importantly, something we still see to this day to stop police brutality. However, sadly He was murdered by the police brutally years ago, just like what is happening now in the present with all the police drama.

When Hampton quoted: "Because you can have as many degrees as a thermometer. If you don't have any practice, they you can't walk across the street and chew gum at the same time." he was implying that the degrees, in this case, is the amount of knowledge one has, moreover that if you have the degree as decoration what use is it. Furthermore, Hampton said that if you do not practice using this degree, you have achieved what use it would be for you or anyone else around you. He used a metaphor almost in a sarcastic way, implying that if you cannot even gain practice or experience in the degree you have, he compared it to chewing gum and crossing the street at the same time, which is a relatively simple task that does not require much effort if at all, so him saying this is implying that having a practice is a necessity.

Hampton quoted for a second time: "I [do not] care how much theory you got, if it don't have any practice applied to it, then that theory happens to irrelevant. Right? Any theory you get, practice it." This is Hampton urging us as people with degrees to practice them. Moreover, if you find theories and try applying them with no practice, then the theory will be irrelevant. Therefore it is crucial to apply as much practice as you can to all the theories you get. For example, if your theory is to raise awareness about racism. Black people receive, it is not enough to have a theory about raising awareness. According to Hampton, we have to act on this theory practice to protest and do man more things. If we do not practice our theory at the end of the day, then there is no use to have a theory with no practice because it because it would be irrelevant.

@Nov 6, 2020 11:09 PM

Frederick Hampton was an American activist and the chairman of the BPP in Illinois. The BPP, (Known as the Black panther party) was an African American revolutionary party whose sole purpose was to survey neighbourhoods and protect residents from instances involving police brutality.

In the first quote, Fred is bringing to our attention the fact that one could have as many qualifications and as many degrees which would make them well educated and that would essentially deem these individuals as “knowledgeable” or “capable” people but the matter of the fact is that when it comes to creating change and obtaining power, all those qualifications won’t matter unless you plan on acting on it because the actions that you make towards that goal which will in turn help you achieve it.

In terms of the second quote, Fred is again stressing the concept of practicing but this time it is in relation to theories as he is conveying the fact that if one has hypothesized something but no practice is applied to it the theory is irrelevant. This is as a result of it not being tested to determine if it will actually work or not as you may find that when you practice the theory, there may have been some errors in your judgement but those errors are okay as long as you correct them and after making those corrections, you are then eligible to apply it to any situation as you have now learnt from experience and can apply that experience the next time.

@Nov 6, 2020 11:11 PM

Fred Hampton was an activist against racism in the 60’s and a revolutionary socilaist. He was a part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), while later going on to be a part of the Black panther movement until his untimely death.In the first quote I believe Hampton discusses how no matter the amount of academic advancements ( degrees, awards, certificates etc), until the lessons learned from earning your degree are used/applicable to use in real life, they’d have gone to waste. In order to reap the value of your suffering and journey-- especially in school whether the ‘sufferings; be money,time, stress etc) they will only be matched to surpass one you utilize and hoan the lessons learnt when they are put to good use. The most educated man is no better than a fool if he doesn't put the teachings of his education in practice. In the second, I also believe that Hampton means that no matter how academically advanced or academically educated you are, if the lessons behind the lesson, the ones that are not always obvious ( or bluntly stated ) but learned anyway in life are what make up the recipe of life's success. What's the point of going to school if the tools/skills you are provided with are left unused/are left wasted?. If every theory was left being just that a theory- they would have never been proved right or wrong, you'll never know what could've been until you put your skills to practice.

@Nov 6, 2020 11:20 PM

Fred Hampton was a remarkable activist and youth leader for the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1969. The focus for the BPP was to stand for the systematic oppression they experienced at the hands of law enforcement that viewed the black community as lawless and a bunch of hoodlums. This speech was given by Fred Hampton to empower the black community and show them that they are more than these stereotypes. That they can educate themselves and stay knowledgeable about civic rights and duties. Essentially that they are worth more than what the white man continues to slander their race about. In his “Power Anywhere Where There’s People” speech, Fred Hampton uses figures of speech through metaphors to express his perception of education. The statements he made alludes to the idea that you do not have to have a fancy degree in order to be educated and knowledgeable about certain topics. The way people learn or educate themselves is by observation or participating in certain activities. Usually individuals assume that in order to be on top of the ladder they should obtain or pursue a degree by attending school. However, this shouldn’t be the case because in order to fully understand something you would have to be able to learn by seeing or learn by doing which is why participation is a key method in learning comprehension. You will have to make mistakes to learn but these mistakes will eventually be corrected as you continue to practice and learn.

@Nov 6, 2020 11:24 PM

According to Wikipedia, Fred Hampton was "an American activist and revolutionary socialist" (Wikipedia). He was the chairman of the Black Panther Party (the BPP). During his time as the chairman of the BPP, he founded the Rainbow Coalition which was a political organization, and created "an alliance among major Chicago street gangs" (Wikipedia) in an effort for social change.

In my opinion, these quotes are asking about the application of education. Both quotations are alluding to the idea that we as humans cannot exactly learn anything without actually applying it, so therefore you might have the knowledge, but that doesn't mean you necessarily know how to use it, especially not properly. In Fred's speech, he talks about how humans learn from observation which also alludes to this idea that you must practise your theory. In general, I think he is referring to the fact that a degree doesn't mean anything if you can't use it, but you don't need a degree to be educated.

Source:

https://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/fhamptonspeech.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Hampton

@Nov 6, 2020 11:27 PM

Fred Hampton was an activist for the Naacp and the Black Panther Party (BPP). At the age of 21, he was shot with another activist during a raid. He had several successes with the Naacp, but the Black Panther Party resonated with him even more. The BPP had successfully launched a free breakfast program to feed children in many cities. The group also advocated for self-defense rather than nonviolence and took a global perspective on the black freedom struggle. The first quote is suggesting that many people can do many great things, but if you dont put in the work nor time behind it, then it is impossible. If an issue occurs, you have to be able to face it head-on. Otherwise, you won’t know how to deal with the situation in the future and be able to cross the street and chew the gum. The second quote is saying anyone can have an idea. But if you don't put the practice behind, that idea is simply nothing. The more you practice and work on that idea, the more it encompasses you and your beliefs.

@Nov 6, 2020 11:27 PM

Fredrick Allen Hampton was an American activist and revolutionary socialist. He became the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and, later on, deputy chairman of the national BPP. Hampton was also the founder of the Rainbow Coalition, a multicultural political organization that initially included the Black Panthers, Young Patriots, and the Young Lords. Additionally, the Rainbow Coalition organization had an alliance among major Chicago street gangs with the aim to help them end infighting and work for a social change.

Quote 1

In this quote, he essentially refers to the idea that knowledge without practise is nothing. A person can have many professional degrees, knowledge, or expertise; however, if they do not put any of their knowledge to the test, none of it will be worth it. The fact that he refers to an action as simple as “crossing the street while chewing gum” proves his point that an individual with no experience of what they know is “useless” even for such simple tasks. As mentioned in this week’s videos, being non-racist and anti-racist is completely different. If we know how to stop racism but do nothing when we witness racist actions, we are essentially being useless.

Quote 2

As mentioned in the quote before, any theory, idea, or knowledge is irrelevant if not put to action. Whatever you learn, do not just keep it to yourself. Act on it. You could be holding back a major social change you were not aware you could cause by sharing your experiences. Actions are a lot more powerful than empty words. Share your knowledge with others; everyone together can provide useful “hacks.”

@Nov 6, 2020 11:29 PM

Fred Hampton is an African-American activist who was chairman in Illinois for the Black Panther Party, a political organization that was formed in the mid-60s and was active until the early 80s. One thing that the members of the organization has believed in was the be armed with guns and to help monitor the police and challenge police brutality.

1. I believe that what Fred Hampton believes in this first quote is that even though you can get the best education there is and have multiple degrees, there are still things that you need to experience in real life and through observation that cannot be found in a textbook, or a lecture hall. An example of this is having communication skills, being able to communicate with others, whether it's a neighbour or a classmate.

2. I believe that what Fred Hampton believes in this second quote is that in order for a theory to be relevant, you have to practice it in order for it to be able to be used in any kind of situation. An example of this is public speaking, because in order to be good at it, a lot of practice has to be done in the form of memorizing the script, and making eye-contact with the audience.

Who is Fred Hampton, the BPP, and what does he mean by these two quotes?

[Speech (delivered at Oliver Church, 1969) "Power Anywhere Where There's People"]

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