Akua Njeri

Aftermath Public support enabled Njeri and the other survivors to eventually post the $100,000 bail. Njeri was the first survivor released due to her pregnancy and extreme stress. Njeri and Hampton's son was born on December 29, 1969. She first named him Alfred Johnson, but changed his name legally to Fred Hampton Jr when he was ten years old.

Njeri and the other survivors declined to participate in a federal grand jury investigation into the massacre. As Njeri explained, "they felt justice would not be served." She said that she has had lingering feelings of guilt because she survived the massacre in which Hampton died.

In May 1970, ballistics and forensics exonerated the Panthers who had been charged. Hampton and Clark's families and the survivors filed a civil case against the Chicago Police Department and the FBI. The litigation took 13 years. In 1983, the city of Chicago, Cook County, and the federal government agreed to pay a $1.8 million settlement to the seven survivors and to the families of the two victims. Each of the major players paid one-third of the settlement.

Continued activism Njeri began to read widely and identified increasingly with Africa. She changed her name to Akua Njeri as part of this transition, shedding what she called her "slave name", as did others in the Black Power and Nation of Islam movements.

In January 1990, Njeri attended the funeral of FBI informant William O'Neal, who had provided information to the FBI that aided the 1969 police raid on the Monroe Street apartment. He had committed suicide. She intended to "spit in the casket and then turn it over." She did not follow through.

In 1998 she was serving as national president of the National People's Democratic Uhuru Movement (NPDUM), an interracial organization dedicated to self-determination for African-Americans, and oversees the Chicago chapter. Their offices are on the South Side of the city. It is affiliated with the African People's Socialist Party.

In a 1998 interview, Fred Hampton Jr. said that his mother had discussed his father throughout his life. He "respected and loved" Hampton Sr. as a figure while not fully understanding the scope of his work and the reasons he was targeted by law enforcement. Hampton Jr. attested that "all through my life, my mother always taught me what my father did, the courageous stands he took."

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".

In 2019 Njeri and Fred Hampton Jr initiated a GoFundMe project, called “Save the Hampton House,” in order to acquire and restore Hampton Sr's childhood home in Maywood, Illinois. They intend to seek landmark status for the house and to adapt it as a museum. It would also be developed to offer education services, have community meeting space and gardens. By 2021 the campaign had raised more than $365,000, past their $350,000 goal.

Media and popular culture The 2021 American feature film Judas and the Black Messiah tells the story of Hampton's rise and fall, and William O'Neal's role as informant. Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield star in these roles, respectively. Njeri was portrayed by Dominique Fishback.

Both Njeri and Fred Hampton Jr. consulted with the production team on the film. Njeri advised Fishback on her portrayal. In a 2020 interview, Fishback recalled that Njeri was adamant that Fishback not cry during the assassination scene. She had not done so in 1969 and felt it was an important show of strength for the character and for Black women. Njeri was on set during the filming of the murder scene.

Publications My Life with the Black Panther Party, Burning Spear Publications, 1991 "My Dance with Justice", Yale Journal of Law and Liberation, 1991