Fred Hampton Quotes

I am a revolutionary, and I have nothing to lose but my chains.

We got to fight racism with solidarity, we got to fight capitalism with socialism.

You can kill a revolutionary, but you can’t kill the revolution.

You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.

We’re not going to fight capitalism with black capitalism, but we’re going to fight it with socialism.

You have to understand that people have a right to resist oppression.

I am not a thief, I am not a murderer, and I am not a rapist. I am a freedom fighter.

Power anywhere where there’s people.

The ruling class doesn’t like us—so what? We don’t like them either.

It’s in the nature of capitalism to exploit the weak and protect the powerful.

You don’t fight racism with racism, you fight racism with solidarity.

You can’t separate peace and freedom because no one can be at peace unless they have their freedom.

If you’re afraid of socialism, you’re afraid of yourself.

We’re not going to wait for people to decide to give us what we’re entitled to. We’re going to demand it.

A racist peace is no peace at all.

We don’t have to wait for victory to make revolution, we make revolution with every breath we take.

You don’t fight fire with fire, you fight fire with water.

We say you don’t fight racism with racism, we’re gonna fight racism with solidarity.

You can jail a Revolutionary, but you can’t jail the Revolution.

You can kill a revolutionary, but you can’t kill the spirit of revolution.

Power to the people, all power to the people!

All we’re saying is that we want to be treated like human beings.

People need interim goals to tide them over until the final goal is reached.

We’ve got to face the facts. The whole problem is really that blacks are created to be a subservient people.

Fear is gonna be a player in your life, but you get to decide how much.

Your political philosophy has to be either black nationalism, or socialism.

White folks are going to have to realize whether all they like it or not, they’re going to have to share power.

There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we do not live single-issue lives.

We’ve got to put a lot of our lives into stopping the wars that are being waged against black people.

You have to recognize that once you start a war of liberation, you begin to prove to yourself that life is worth the trouble.

We say power is the ability to define phenomena and make it act in a desired manner.

We say you don’t fight racism with racism. We’re gonna fight racism with solidarity.

We’re gonna fight racism not with racism, but we’re gonna fight with solidarity. We say we’re not gonna fight capitalism with black capitalism, but we’re gonna fight it with socialism.

Repression can only foster resistance.

I don’t believe in playing down to children, either in life or in politics. I never have.

There are a lot of things happening that you can either do something about or not do something about. I’m not the kind of person that can just sit back and watch.

I believe I’m going to die doing the things I was born for.

You have to defend yourself and your rights as a human being.

You have to understand, we base our platform on racial hatred, which ties politics to our blood.

People have a right to oppress you. You have a right to do whatever is necessary to defend yourself.

You fight racism not with racism, but with solidarity. We resist capitalism not with black capitalism, but with socialism.

The only thing power respects is power.

You can’t beat a pig at his own game.

We don’t think you fight fire with fire, we think you fight fire with water. We’re going to fight racism not with racism, but we’re going to fight with solidarity. We say we’re not going to fight capitalism with black capitalism, but we’re going to fight it with socialism.

They tried to kill Fred Hampton because they thought he could kill the social order that puts profit over people.

We don’t fight fire with fire, we fight fire with water. We don’t fight racism with racism, we fight racism with solidarity. We don’t fight capitalism with black capitalism, we fight capitalism with socialism.

The people are the most important aspect of life; they must be at the center of any meaningful revolution.

We’re not going to wait for people to decide to give us what we’re entitled to. We’re going to demand it.

Education must not simply teach work – it must teach life.

I’m not going on a crash program, I’m going on a liberation program.