Carl Hampton Remembered on Dowling St. : Houston Indymedia

To mark the 38th anniversary of Carl's death, around 20 people drove to the cemetery in north Houston where Carl Hampton is buried. People placed flowers on his grave and a number of elders who were contemporaries of Carl Hampton spoke about his life and dedication to revolutionary change.

Speakers included Peoples Party II members James Aaron, Ayana and Sensei, who read a statement from Boko Freeman, and an amazing anonymous letter from someone who meet Carl in response to his death. Also long time community activists Ester King and Ovide Duncatel, and other community activists from that time who I have never met before, but all had stories about the significance of Carl to their lives and struggles.

We then drove back to the location of the Peoples Party II house, where folks from the Station Museum had set up a tent to hide from the shade, drink lemonade and read about Peoples Party II. In the evening, we walked together to the site of the Black Panther Party house (After Carl was killed they Peoples Party II was accepted as a Black Panther Party Chapter and they got a new office on Dowling Street, and later moved to 4th Ward just West of downtown) and then to the side of Wolf's department store where Carl Hampton was shot by a sniper from a window of St. John's Church.

There was more speaking, including some who had spoke earlier as well as the lawyer who represented Carl Hampton and a number of the black radical activists in Houston, as well as a man who was 10 years old when Carl Hampton was killed who perform a poem he had written about being inspired by the Black Panther Party.

We went back to the PPII headquarters to wrap up the evening and we left. We later ran into some folks who stuck around, and told us that shortly afterwards, a woman named Sofia, who had driven into the firefight and picked up Carl to take him to the hospital was in Emancipation park and discovered the event by accident while walking through emancipation park. I'll try to get someone who was there write a comment about it.

It was an amazing event where I learned a lot. People spoke about the need to observe Carl's passing every year, hopefully building more in the way of intergenerational and multi-cultural observations of life and death of this Freedom fighter here in Houston. I hope to see 5 times as many people in 2009.

We recorded audio and video and will try to post it quickly.

I hope we spelled her name right!

Station Museum's Table
by Photos Gislaine / Writing RoB Sunday, Jul. 27, 2008 at 8:14 PM
2800 Dowling St.

Carl Lives
by Photos Gislaine / Writing RoB Sunday, Jul. 27, 2008 at 8:14 PM
2800 Dowling St.