On August 30th, in 1948 The Black Panther Party birthed one of its most charismatic leaders and public speakers-Fred Hampton. He was born in Summit, Illinois. He was able to unify people of all ethnicities based on the fact that the poorer citizens in America were catching hell everywhere-much like today’s capitalist nation. He saw that socioeconomic status had more of an positive correlation with social-political mobility.
He went to the Appalachia Mountain region and mobilized the people there. He also traveled to the Latino communities and helped motivate and support their movement for ethnic and economic equality. Hampton was the Deputy Chairman of the Black Panther Party’s Illinois Chapter. The FBI & Chicago P(ig)D assassinated Fred Hampton at his home while he was sleeping in his bed with his pregnant wife.
He rolled over on top of her when the government agencies started firing at him to protect her and his unborn child. He transformed the image, the number, as well as the types of people that supported the Black Panther Party. The threat to the American power structure was imminent. Thus, he had to be assassinated… ‘You can kill the Revolutionary, but You Can’t Kill the Revolution’…
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On August 30th, in 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival ended two weeks prior. However, the Second Annual Isle of Wight Festival was just starting. The event lasted two days and had over one hundred and fifty thousand attendees. Performers included: Richie Havens, The Who, Fat Mattress, Blodwyn Pig, Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band, The Moody Blues, Family,
The Nice, Bob Dylan, The Pretty Things, The Band, Free, Blonde On Blonde, Joe Cocker, Tom Paxton, Edgar Broughton Band, Aynsley Dunbar, Julie Felix, Gypsy, Pentangle & Third Ear Band. The concert tickets for the event cost about $3.00 at the time. Several celebrities attended the event as well. One of them was Rolling Stones guitarist-Keith Richards.
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On August 30th, in 1972, John Lennon spent $60,000 on tickets for a benefit concert he was performing at with Yoko Ono, Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, Liz Taylor, Sha Na Na, Ringo Starr from The Beatles, George Harrison (The Beatles), Richard Burton & Jane Fonder to name a few. Lennon’s purchased tickets were given away to volunteer fund-raisers. They in turn sold the tickets and used the money for their respective charities.
The concert was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The charity that received the majority of the proceeds was called One to One. The performers made a generous donation by performing, and Lennon upped the ante by buying a large amount of tickets. Big up to everyone who participated.
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On August 30th, in 1992, England’s Reading Festival took place in the United Kingdom. Performers that rocked included: Public Enemy, Ride, Pavement, Suede, Manic Street Preachers and Nirvana. The latter two: The bassists for Manic Street Preachers-Nicky Wire did the Who/Hendrix move-smashed his guitar into two pieces then threw it into the audience.
He hit a security guard with it, and they wound up getting 16 stitches. In true Cobain fashion, when Nirvana took the stage for their last UK appearance, rumors had been swarming that Cobain had been experiencing some mental health issues…He came out in a wheelchair and hospital gown that was pushed by Everette True-a music journalist. It became one of the iconic photos of his musical career.
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HONORABLE MENTIONS: SPACE FORCE!!! On August 30th, in 1983 America had its first Black Afronaut (Astronaut)-Lt. Colonel Guion S. Bluford, Jr. He was a crew member on the STS-8 space mission and a member of the Obiter Challenger. NASA was well-known for their space travel during the time as technologies consistently developed.
On August 30th, in 1988, the seminal Funk Band War, who were introduced to the world via Eric Burdon, lost their Saxophonist Papa Dee Allen (hat, 3rd R). He was a multi-instrumentalist playing the vibraphone and piano as well. Papa Dee was also instrumental in composing and writing songs for the band. He was 57 years-old.
On August 30th, in 1990, pop vocalist Linda Rondstat had some descendants of the Meters play with her at her concert at the Jones Beach Theater in Long Island, New York-The Neville Brothers (she was a longtime fan of them)…‘guess who got shot in the dome piece, Jerome’s niece, on her way home from Jones Beach’…
… ‘I been there…I done that’…On August 30th, in 1994, Dr. Dre, co-founder of N.W.A.-the producer, emcee and dee jay, was given a five month jail sentence for a probation violation. He was held down in the Los Angeles County Jail. The violation was for the assault on a TV host.
… ‘Paid the cost to be the boss...look at me, know what ya see?...ya see a bad mutha!’…On August 30th, in 1997 the GODFATHER of FUNK-Mr. James Brown took his revue across the pond. He performed at Hotel Albustan in Beirut, Lebanon. A little after that, he hit up the Kremlin Palace in Moscow. He showed the Red State the FUNK.
On August 30th, in 2012, seminal Hip-Hop manager Chris Lighty took his own life via a gunshot wound to the head. He helped 50 Cent, Puffy, and Mariah Carey achieve successful careers riddle with hit songs, and bolstered their careers outside of music (acting, fashion design, sponsors). He was 44 years-old when he died.
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