Fred Hampton, Jr. (born December 29, 1969) is an African American political activist and the son of Fred Hampton, Sr.. His father was a Black Panther who was shot to death while sleeping by the Chicago Police in 1969. Hampton's mother, Deborah Johnson, was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with him when Hampton, Sr. was killed in her presence during the pre-dawn police raid. Hampton, Sr. was 21 at the time of his death; Johnson was 19. She was also shot.
Hampton, Jr. has followed his father's legacy, becoming prominent in black nationalist politics. In 1990, he became the president of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement. In 1993, he was convicted of aggravated arson. The case involved the firebombing of a Korean grocery store in the aftermath of the 1992 nationwide protests after the acquittal of the Los Angeles Police Department officers who beat Rodney King. Hampton was sentenced to eighteen years in prison, and was paroled on September 14, 2001.
He is the chairman of the Prisoners of Conscience Committee (P.O.C.C.).
He made an appearance in Michel Gondry's 2006 film Dave Chappelle's Block Party.
His trial is the basis of Fall Out Boy's song "You're Crashing, But You're No Wave". He is also mentioned in Dead Prez's 2000 song Behind Enemy Lines.