Disclaimer: This website and all of it’s content reflects the personal opinions of it’s host and it’s guest. It does not support violence or terrorism of any kind, but was solely created to honor our brother Mark Clark and to share some of the history of the Peoria Black Panther Party under his leadership.

FAMILY OF DEFENSE CAPTAIN MARK CLARK

FAMILY HISTORY OF HONORING MARK CLARK

On December4, 1969, a 14 man police team raided the apartment of Fred Hampton around 4 am in the morning on the pretense that they had illegal guns; killing both Mark Clark and Fred Hampton. (No illegal guns were ever found.) The police claimed it was a shootout, but it was later revealed that it was a pre-mediated plot to kill the two black panther leaders. This website is dedicated to their memories; and provides programs for historically underserved youth.

To honor our brother Mark Clark, (who is missing in the family photo above), in 2008, my brothers James and George, and my dear sisters Elner and Kay began sponsoring several memorial tributes honoring Mark. They later established the Mark Clark Memorial Foundation which lasted several years. Sadly, both James and George passed away. My dear sister Elner has continued to provide programs and events honoring Mark in Peoria, Illinois.

Also in 2008, my dear sister Kay Clark created two websites honoring Mark; the first was RememberMarkClark.com, and then MarkClarkMemorial.com. Those websites contained thousands of articles, commentaries, and photos honoring Mark and Fred, which came from all over the country. Unfortunately, my sister Kay passed away in 2011 and all of that information was lost.

To carry on where my sister Kay left off, in 2017, I created this website to honor both Mark Clark and Fred Hampton. My purpose was to share the untold story behind the assassinations of Mark Clark and Chairman Fred. Since it’s inception, I have had to update this site regularly and even shut it down on certain occasions due cyber attacks.

Along with creating this website, I am also the author of the book titled, MARK CLARK: SOUL OF A BLACK PANTHER by Gloria Clark Jackson. In addition, I am the founder of two non-profit youth organizations called AMC4youths. (AMC) is the acronym for activist Mark Clark. In addition to that, I am also one of the sponsors that created a scholarship in Mark’s honor. With the help of Professor Joshua Finnell and a few other donors, we were able to establish a $1,000 scholarship called Seize The Time in Honor of Mark Clark, to assist a Black high school graduate each year from Peoria, Illinois who attends Illinois Central College.

In 2022, my baby sister Rose X Clark Morris joined the Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the BPP to receive a historical marker for Mark at Ward Chapel AME Church. Also, an area at the church has been set aside to create the Mark Clark Memorial Park.

Now, to be totally transparent, I have declined to join the Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the BPP. While I totally agree that getting a marker presented to Mark is a great long over-due honor, I can not reconcile with the contradiction. After researching the organization, I noticed that it had only recently been created in 2021 and received a 501c3 in 2022, less than 3 years ago. But my main reason for not participating with this organization is that it is being run and controlled by the State of Illinois.

This is a major conflict of interest for me because it was the State of Illinois, under Edward V. Hanrahan that orchestrated the raid that murdered my brother Mark and Chairman Fred. In the lawsuit settlement, the State of Illinois had to pay a third of the settlement for their involvement. Now they are THE ONES WHO WILL BE CONTROLING the Historical Society of Illinois Chapter of the BPP: I simply can’t go along with that.

There are too many rats in the nest aka informants, and having been taught by Mark that the BPP did not affiliate with the government in any way, which is one of the BPP rules, I can not in good conscious become a part of that organization. To me, that is a major contradiction and a slap in the face to the legacy of what Mark and Fred died for.

As the only living sibling of Mark Clark who joined the Peoria BPP, I believe it is my duty to tell Mark’s story in truth and with transparency. While other’s have tried to tell his story from hearsay, none of them were actual members of the Peoria BPP. To understand Mark’s motives, you need to know the back story behind his decisions. Mark was more than just my brother, he was my leader while I was in the Peoria BPP, and he was my friend. In fact, I was living with Mark a week before he was murdered. That is why I honor him by staying true to telling the whole story, and not just a romanticized version of it.

Gloria Clark Jackson

Administrator and Web creator

AMC4YOUTHS.ORG IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

AND OUR YOUTH MINISTRY HONORING MARK CLARK

OUR MISSION:

Our mission is to provide programs to at risk youth that inspire youth to build interpersonal skills that promote confidence, character, leadership, and teamwork. We do this by providing life skills classes that help build self esteem and stress conflict resolution.

OUR VISION:

We are committed to reducing teen violence within the community by providing programs that promote self respect and personal responsibility. We foster values such as sharing, caring, honesty, and respect, as we help youth adjust and cope with their changing world.

OUR GOAL:

Our goal is to reduce the high rate of violence committed by our youth within our neighborhood and community.

Gloria Clark Jackson, Web Administrator, and founder of AMC4YOUTHS.ORG.