On this day, December 4, in 1969

Black Panther members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were shot and killed in their sleep. Fred Hampton was marked early on as a major threat in the eyes of the FBI. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover was determined to prevent the formation of a cohesive Black radical movement in the US and he saw the Panthers as a frightening step toward the creation of such a revolutionary body. On the morning of December 4, the Chicago police raided Fred Hampton's house, where many of the Panthers were staying for the night, and fired 99 shots, injuring many and killing two. At a press conference the next day, the police announced that their team had been attacked by the "violent" and "extremely vicious" Panthers and they had defended themselves accordingly. After years of investigation, the brutal and racist tactics of the FBI were finally revealed.