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Akua Njeri  

Writer, Activist & Former Member of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party

Akua Njeri - formerly known as Deborah Johnson - is an American writer, activist and former member of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. Njeri was present at the December 4, 1969, police raid in which her fiancé Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were killed at the Chicago apartment she and Hampton shared. She is the mother of their son Fred Hampton Jr., born after his father's death.

Njeri is the chairperson of the December 4th Committee, which "fights to defend and maintain the legacy of the Black Panther Party and what really happened on that fateful morning [of Hampton and Clark's assassination]." The Committee coordinates with the Prisoners of Conscience Committee (POCC), whose advisory committee Njeri also serves on, to hold an annual celebration commemorating Hampton's birthday on August 30. The two organizations also collaborate to recognize International Revolutionary Day on the anniversary of the December 4th assassination of Hampton and Clark. Also with the POCC, Njeri helps coordinate clothing and food giveaways.

Njeri makes speaking appearances and co-authored a proposal to name a Chicago block "Chairman Fred Hampton Way". She served as the president of the National People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, an "interracial organization dedicated to self-determination for Black Americans."

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