Mark Clark (Black Panther)

Mark Clark
Black Panther
Born	June 28, 1947(1947-06-28) Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Died	December 4, 1969(1969-12-04) (aged 22) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Mark Clark (June 28, 1947 – December 4, 1969) was a member of the Black Panther Party. He was killed with Fred Hampton in a Chicago police raid on December 4, 1969.

Youth

Mark Clark was born on June 28, 1947, in Peoria, Illinois, to Elder William Clark and Fannie Bardley Clark. He became active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at an early age and joined in demonstrating against discrimination in employment, housing and education.^[1] According to John Gwynn, former President of state and local chapters of the NAACP, Mark Clark and his brothers played a major part in keeping other teenagers in line. "He could call for order when older persons or adults could not," he said of Clark in a December 1969 interview with the Chicago Tribune. ^[2] In that same Chicago Tribune article, family members are quoted as saying Mark Clark enjoyed reading and art and was good at drawing portraits. He attended Manual High School and Illinois Central Junior College in Peoria.

The Black Panther Party

After reading their literature and the Ten Point Program, Clark joined the Black Panther Party and later decided to organize a local Peoria, Illinois chapter. He went from church to church in an effort to find a building to house a free breakfast program. He was turned away time after time, but he never gave up. Eventually, Pastor Blaine Ramsey agreed to allow a free breakfast program. Church members later voted against continuing the breakfast program because of the negative FBI propaganda associated with the Black Panther Party.

The December 4th Raid

Some family members and friends say Mark Clark knew he would be assassinated in Chicago.^[2] In the pre-dawn hours of December 4, 1969, Chicago Police stormed into the apartment of BPP State Chairman Fred Hampton at 2337 W. Monroe Street, killing both Mark Clark and Fred Hampton, and causing serious bodily harm to Verlina Brewer, Ronald Satchel, Blair Anderson and Brenda Harris.

Fred Hampton and Deborah Johnson, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with their child, were sleeping in the south bedroom. Ronald "Doc" Satchel, Blair Anderson and Verlina Brewer were asleep in the north bedroom. Brenda Harris was sleeping on a bed by the south wall of the living room, and Harold Bell slept on a mattress on the floor in the middle of the room. Louis Truelock was also lying on the bed with Harris. Mark Clark was asleep in a chair in the living room. The raiders first shot Mark Clark in the heart. Clark's gun went off as he fell, according to Brenda Harris, who watched from the bed in the corner. A federal grand jury determined that the police fired between 82 and 99 shots while most of the occupants lay sleeping. Only one shot was proven to have come from a Panther gun.^[3]

References

1. ^ Clark, Kay. "Who Was Mark Clark?". Mark Clark Legacy website. Mark Clark Legacy Org. http://www.markclarklegacy.com/whowasmarkclark.html. Retrieved 2005-11-16. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Boyce, Joseph (December 29, 1969). "Panther Clark Expected Death, Sister Reveals". Chicago Tribune ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849 - 1985) ((1963–Current file)): 12. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/577765172.html?dids=577765172:577765172&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Dec+29%2C+1969&author=JOSEPH+BOYCE&pub=Chicago+Tribune+(1963-Current+file)&edition=&startpage=12&desc=Panther+Clark+Expected+Death%2C+Sister+Reveals. Retrieved 2005-11-01. 
3. ^ "Hampton v. City Of Chicago, et al.". IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS. January 4, 1978. http://www.lucentsucks.com/DOCUMENTS/Hampton-brief-long.doc. Retrieved 2007-07-19. 

External links

• Remember Mark Clark
• The Mark Clark Memorial Foundation, Inc.
• Mark Clark: "Quiet Leader"
• Mark Clark Legacy MySpace Edition
• Murdered Panther Leader Still Gets No Respect from Hometown Newspaper

Persondata
Name	Clark, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 28, 1947
Place of birth	Peoria, Illinois, U.S.
Date of death	December 4, 1969
Place of death	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.