3 upcoming events: Fred Hampton commemorations, card writing to political prisoners

Two events featuring the new book, "The Assassination of Fred Hampton," by Jeffrey
Haas (lawyer who pursued the case on behalf of the Hampton and Clark families), and
the annual holiday card writing to U.S. political prisoners.

EVENT # 1 - THURSDAY, December 3 - 6:30 pm
at The New York Community Church, 40 East 35th Street (between Madison
and Park), New York City

Racism, Repression and Resistance

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the murder of Fred Hampton and the release of
"The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a
Black Panther," by Jeffrey Haas. Panel discussion will explore the ongoing
repression of political dissent in the U.S., from the COINTELPRO program that
targeted the Black Panther Party to the current surveillance and disruption of
political movements in the name of national security.
Panelists Include:

Monifa Bandele: activist, co-coordinator Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (moderator)
Jeffrey Haas: attorney and author (an original member of the People's Law Office in
Chicago)
Rachel Meeropol: staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights
Malik Rahim: founder of Common Ground Relief in New Orleans
Francisco Torres: member of the San Francisco 8
Laura Whitehorn: activist and former political prisoner

Discussion and book signing will follow the presentation.
This event is free and open to the public.
More information at www.CCRjustice.org/calendar or email info@CCRjustice.org
Sponsored by the Center for Constitutional Rights

Co-sponsors include: Coalition to Abolish the AETA, National Lawyers Guild,
New York City Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, War Resisters
League, Witness Against Torture

*************************************************
EVENT #2 - SUNDAY, December 6th - 4 pm

Send Love Through the Walls!!!

Resistance in Brooklyn and
NYC Anarchist Black Cross (ABCF-NYC)

invite you to a
Holiday Card-Writing Party
for U.S.-Held Political Prisoners & POWs

Sunday, December 6, 4:00 p.m.

At 263 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn (between Franklin and Classon, #2, 3, 4, 5 to
Franklin Ave. - take left elevator to apt. 5D)

Write to the Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War in the jails of this country,
incarcerated for their love of justice and their militant resistance to the US
government.

Refreshments will be served.

We'll offer you updates on the campaigns around Political Prisoners and Prisoners of
War. And we'll provide paints, markers, crayons, and envelopes.

For more information, call (718) 783-8141 or email nycabc@riseup.net.

*************************************************
EVENT #3 - MONDAY, December 7th - 7:30 pm
at the Brecht Forum, 451 West St. (West Side Highway), between Bank & Bethune Sts. ,
Manhattan (212) 242-4201 * http://brechtforum.org
For directions, go to http://brechtforum.org/directions
Sliding scale admission: $6/$10/$15

BOOK PARTY & FILM SCREENING

Co-Sponsor: Red Channels

The Assassination of Fred Hampton:
How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther

Speakers: Jeffrey Haas, Michael Steven Smith, Cleo Silvers

2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Black Panther Party leaders
Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. Slain in their Chicago apartment by the police
department, Hampton and Clark's killing marked an escalation of state sponsored
violence by local, state and federal police departments.

Join us as we discuss the story behing the killing of Hampton and Clark. Also part
of the program will be a viewing of Video Freex interview with Fred Hampton

About the Book:

It's sometime around 7:00 a.m., on December 4, 1969, and attorney Jeff Haas is in
the Monroe Street police lockup in Chicago, interviewing Fred Hampton's fianc?e.
Only four hours earlier, she was lying in bed next to Hampton when the police burst
into their apartment. She is still in her nightgown, describing how the police
pulled her from the room as Fred lay unconscious on their bed. She heard one officer
say, "He's still alive." She then heard two shots. A second officer said, "He's good
and dead now." She looks at Jeff and asks, "What can you do?"

The Assassination of Fred Hampton is attorney Jeff Haas's personal account of the
eighteen-month trial in which he and People's Law Office partner Flint Taylor
pursued Hampton's assassins, ultimately prevailing over FBI stonewalling and
unlimited government resources bent on hiding the conspiracy that led to Hampton's
death. The book not only tells the story of justice delivered but also puts Hampton
in a new light as a dynamic community leader whose dedication to his people and to
truth telling inspired the young lawyers of the People's Law Office, solidifying
their lifelong commitment to fighting injustice.

Jeff Haas has spent his career working for justice. In 1969 he and three other
lawyers set up the People's Law Office, whose clients included the Black Panthers,
SDS, and other political activists. Haas went on to handle cases involving
prisoners' rights, police torture, and the wrongfully accused. He lives in Santa Fe,
New Mexico, with his wife and children and continues to represent victims of police
brutality.