Suggested reading from Chicago Review Press
 Mother's Day |
 Father's Day |
Follow Us
 |
How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther
By Jeffrey Haas
TRUE CRIME
400 Pages, 6 x 9
Formats: Trade Paper, EPUB
Trade Paper, $17.99 (JP $3031.00) (US $17.99) (EU $16.99) (CA $23.99) (AU $27.99)
ISBN 9781641603218
Rights: WOR
Chicago Review Press (Nov 2019)
Lawrence Hill Books
Overview
In an era of mounting law enforcement abuse and rising public defiance, The Assassination of Fred Hampton is more relevant than ever. Read the story of Black Panther activist Hampton’s murder by Chicago police and attorney Jeff Haas’s fight to bring the assassins to justice.
On December 4, 1969, attorney Jeff Haas was in a police lockup in Chicago, interviewing Fred Hampton’s fiancée. Deborah Johnson described how the police pulled her from the room as Fred lay unconscious on their bed. She heard one officer say, “He’s still alive.” She then heard two shots. A second officer said, “He’s good and dead now.”
She looked at Jeff and asked, “What can you do?” The Assassination of Fred Hampton remains Haas’s personal account of how he and People’s Law Office partner Flint Taylor pursued Hampton’s assassins, ultimately prevailing over FBI stonewalling and unlimited government resources bent on hiding the conspiracy that led to Hampton’s death. Half a century later, Haas writes that there is still an urgent need for the revolutionary systemic changes Hampton was organizing to accomplish.
Not only a story of justice delivered, this book spotlights Hampton as a dynamic community leader and an inspiration for those still fighting against injustice and the brutality of law enforcement.
Reviews
"[A] political cliff-hanger . . . an exposé [that] should be read in schools across the country." —Huffington Post
“Required political reading, especially for conservatives who are genuinely concerned about the damage secret government can do.” —Chicago Daily Observer
“An extremely important book—and a tale well told—for America to read if it wants to become what it says it has always been—the land of the free and the home of the brave.” —Ramsey Clark, former United States Attorney General
“A true crime story and legal thriller, this powerful account puts together all the pieces, step by step, giving us the anatomy of a despicable episode in recent American history. The writing is clear and straightforward; the overall impact devastating.” —Phillip Lopate, author of Getting Personal
“At once journalist, lawyer and storyteller, Jeff Haas manages to sear into every page of this book a compassion seemingly forgotten, providing a riveting eyewitness account of the government assassination of Fred Hampton. This is mandatory reading for those who love and believe in freedom.” —Elaine Brown, author and former chairman of the Black Panther Party
“Part history, part courtroom drama, part literary memoir, Haas evokes with chilling precision a bloody and desperate repressive state apparatus locked in conflict with its greatest fear, a charismatic young black man with revolution on his mind.” —William Ayers, professor of education, University of Illinois at Chicago
Author Biography
Attorney Jeffrey Haas has spent his career working for justice. In 1969 he and three other lawyers set up the People’s Law Office, whose clients included the Black Panthers, SDS, and other political activists. Haas went on to handle cases involving prisoners’ rights, police torture, and the wrongfully accused. He continues to represent victims of police brutality.
