![]() ![]() When he was just a young teenager, he pushed his school to allow Black girls to compete for homecoming queen and rallied for an integrated pool and recreational center. But Hampton in particular stood out among the pack.īorn just outside Chicago on August 30, 1948, Hampton got involved in civil rights activism early on. Edgar Hoover had made it his mission to prevent the “rise of a ‘messiah’ who could unify, and electrify, the militant Black nationalist movement.” This fear largely stemmed from the fact that the Black Panthers were becoming more and more popular. He would be murdered later that same year.Īround this time, FBI director J. How William O’Neal Became An FBI InformantĬhicago Tribune file photo/TNS/Getty Images Fred Hampton in 1969. This is the little-known story of William O’Neal, the Black Panther who betrayed Fred Hampton. However, he also admitted that he was not a “happy man.” And in 1990, O’Neal took his own life at age 40 - on Martin Luther King Jr. Subsequently placed in witness protection under an assumed name, O’Neal would later say that he felt no remorse for being an informant. As chronicled in the 2021 film Judas And The Black Messiah, O’Neal’s role in Hampton’s tragic end was only revealed in 1973. ![]() While the story of Hampton’s death is fairly well known, O’Neal’s involvement in the matter often goes overlooked. Tragically, police brutality had been one of the main issues that Hampton had been fighting against. And now, a beloved Black Panther was dead at the hands of the police. It had only been a year and a half since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The brutal attack sent shockwaves across Black America. This allowed the Chicago police to raid the building - and murder Fred Hampton in his sleep on December 4, 1969. But behind the scenes, O’Neal was secretly providing the FBI with a floor plan of Hampton’s apartment. Not only did O’Neal successfully join the Black Panthers, he also gained the trust of Hampton, the beloved chairman of the Illinois chapter. Authorities had offered him a deal: Infiltrate the Black Panther Party - or rot in prison. A car thief by trade, O’Neal had been arrested in 1966 for driving a stolen vehicle across state lines. The head of security for the Black Panthers in Chicago, he was tasked with an enormously important job: guarding the group’s leader Fred Hampton.īut little did the Panthers know that O’Neal had infiltrated the organization on behalf of the FBI. YouTube William O’Neal was one of the most trusted Black Panthers during the late 1960s.Īs far as the Black Panther Party was concerned, William O’Neal was one of their most loyal brothers in arms. ![]()
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