Journal of African American Studies

, Volume 21, Issue 1, pp 6–25 | Cite as

Mark Clark’s Tenuous Place in History

  • Judson L. Jeffries
  • Omari L. Dyson
  • Charles E. Jones
ARTICLES
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Abstract

This study seeks to ascertain whether the Chicago Daily Defender’s coverage of the December 4, 1969 assassination of Mark Clark and Fred Hampton represents a prevailing pattern among black newspapers or an aberration in the black media’s treatment of the infamous event. Moreover, we wish to determine how the black press coverage differed from that of the mainstream media. The study proceeds with a brief synopsis of the police actions taken on that fateful December morning, after which the data and methodological design of the study are presented and followed by an analysis of the findings. We then offer a biographical capsule of Mark Clark’s life and activism; heretofore, largely overlooked in the scholarly narratives of the raid. Finally, the study concludes with a discussion of the sources contributing to Clark’s near erasure from the annals of history.

Keywords

Mark Clark Fred Hampton December 4, 1969 Raid Assassination Pack journalism Media representation Black Panther Party Chicago raid 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • Judson L. Jeffries
    • 1
  • Omari L. Dyson
    • 2
  • Charles E. Jones
    • 3
  1. 1.Department of African American and African StudiesThe Ohio State UniversityColumbusUSA
  2. 2.Department of Justice & Policy StudiesGuilford CollegeGreensboroUSA
  3. 3.Department of Africana StudiesUniversity of CincinnatiCincinnatiUSA

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