"one man's freedom fighter..."

In These Times: The Battle for Fred Hampton Way by Salim Muqakkil talks about the current struggle in Chicago to name one city block in honor of the Black Panther leader, Fred Hampton. Many of the city's Black politicians are supporting the measure but in a "surprise" move, the Fraternal Order of Police is objecting.

It reminds me of an earlier conflict, also in Chicago, where the local Puerto Rican community wanted to put a statue of Pedro Albizu Campos in Humboldt Park but faced opposition from the Park District.

From Z Magazine: Puerto Rican Community in Chicago by Melinda Power:

In the early 1990s, a fierce struggle over a statue of Don Pedro Albizu Campos, the fiery independentista and Nationalist Party leader, materialized in the Puerto Rican community. Aggressive opposition from pro-statehood Puerto Ricans, conservative Democrats, and real estate interests blocked placement of the statue in Humboldt Park, an expansive and beautiful oasis in the heart of the Puerto Rican community. As a testament to the strength of Puerto Rican nationalism, the City of Chicago agreed to the community's request to install two striking, 59-foot, steel Puerto Rican flags at the east and west entrances to the neighborhood. Spanning Division Street, the main thoroughfare, these flags clearly mark the community's boundaries. They also send a message to would-be gentrifiers: "Humboldt Park is Puerto Rican territory."

and

Space of Resistance: The Puerto Rican Cultural Center and Humboldt Park by Rachel Rinaldo:

La Casita's lot now includes a landscaped garden area, benches to sit on, and a space for performances. There are often barbecues here in the summer. When two of the freed prisoners returned to Chicago in September 1999, the welcome-home party was held there. In front stands a bronze statue of Pedro Albizu Campos, the Puerto Rican nationalist leader revered by the PRCC and by the Young Lords.

In the mid-1990s, the PRCC wanted to place the statue in Humboldt Park, but the Park District objected. The statue was eventually moved to La Casita, where it is a spot on the Paseo Boricua walking tours. It remains a sore point for the PRCC—one of the instances in which domination of space by the powers that be has prevailed. The Paseo Boricua Directory points out, "The placement of the Statue of Albizu needs to be resolved, since Humboldt Park has been denied to us. The Casita is therefore the most appropriate place for the placement of the statue."

You win some, you lose some. But then what really shows the hypocrisy of this whole situation is that a major Chicago street is already named after an honest-to-"goodness" Fascist: Streetworthy? The case for and against Italo Balbo

The cliches are overused but apt: One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. History is written by the winners. Or as Obi Wan said: "Luke, you will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."