On Saturday, March 5, at 12:30pm (EST), join Hyperallergic and Jack Shainman Gallery for a special conversation with Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. and Akua Njeri, moderated by Hyperallergic Senior Editor Seph Rodney. This free event taking place at Jack Shainman Gallery’s The School in Kinderhook, New York, will have limited seating but will be broadcast live via Zoom and on Wave Farm’s WGXC 90.7-FM Radio for Open Ears in New York’s Upper Hudson Valley.
Speakers
Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. (b. 1969) of the Black Panther Party Cubs is the son of Chairman Fred Hampton and Deborah Johnson, now known as Akua Njeri. He has worked throughout North America and internationally to advocate for self-determination and the freedom of political prisoners. Among his recent projects is Save the Hampton House, a campaign to transform his father’s childhood home into a museum that shares the history and celebrates the legacy of the Black Panther Party.
Akua Njeri, formerly known as Deborah Johnson, was a member of the Black Panther Party and is the mother of Chairman Fred Hampton’s only child. When she was eight-and-a-half months pregnant, the Chicago police stormed the apartment she shared with Hampton, killing him and jailing her. Njeri continues to maintain the legacy of Chairman Fred through her work with the Save the Hampton House initiative and the Black Panther Party Cubs, of which she is currently on the Advisory Board.
Seph Rodney, PhD, is currently a senior critic and Opinions editor for Hyperallergic, writing on visual art and related issues. He has also contributed to the New York Times, CNN Op-ed pages, American Craft, and NBC Universal. In 2020 he won the Rabkin Arts Journalism Prize and he can be heard weekly on the podcast The American Age.
The conversation will take place in conjunction with This Tender, Fragile Thing, currently on view at The School through April 30. This group exhibition pairs archival materials from the Civil Rights Movement with contemporary artwork. If you are unable to visit The School in person, please visit jackshainman.com to view a digital walkthrough of the exhibition.
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