Flint Taylor - "The Conviction Machine" - Congressman Bobby Rush, Ann Campbell-Kendrick
Flint Taylor will discuss his new book, The Conviction Machine: Prosecutors, Politicians, and Police Violence in Chicago. He will be joined in conversation by Congressman Bobby Rush and Ann Campbell-Kendrick.
At the Co-op
About the Book: A captivating account of the most corrupt and blood-soaked chapters in Chicago law enforcement history
In December 1969, the FBI, the Chicago Police Department, and the office of States Attorney, led by rising political star Edward V. Hanrahan, conspired to assassinate Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, and then flagrantly covered up their misconduct. Thirteen years later, Jackie Wilson was tortured by the same police department and wrongfully incarcerated for thirty-six years.
Drawing on unique insights from his role as a leading opposition lawyer in both cases, award-winning author Flint Taylor details the vast political corruption uncovered in the Hampton case and the twists and turns of Wilson's forty-year effort to win his freedom.
With blistering clarity and righteous indignation, The Conviction Machine shines a penetrating light on the sordid world of prosecutorial misconduct and police violence.
About the Author: As a law student, Flint Taylor was a founding member of the People’s Law Office and has been a partner of the PLO since 1972. As a student and lawyer, he has been dedicated to litigating against police violence and racism for more than fifty-four years. Among the landmark cases that Taylor has litigated are the Fred Hampton Black Panther case; the Greensboro, North Carolina case against the KKK, Nazis and Greensboro police; and a series of cases arising from a pattern and practice of police torture and cover-up by Chicago police Commander Jon Burge, former Cook County State’s Attorney and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, and numerous other law enforcement officials. He has represented, and continues to represent, many wrongfully convicted persons, including police torture victims who have spent decades in prison and on death row. He has chronicled his work and that of the People’s Law Office in an award-winning historical memoir titled The Torture Machine.
About the Interlocutors: Congressman Bobby Rush, a legendary figure in modern African American politics, exhibited extraordinary leadership long before his 1992 election to Illinois' First Congressional District. Rush was born in Albany, Georgia, in November 23, 1946, under extremely segregated conditions. Rush’s family moved to Chicago in 1953, when he was seven years old.
In 1963, at the age of seventeen, Rush enlisted in the U. S. Army and served honorably until 1968. Later, Rush made history when he formed the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party after having been inspired by the activism of Stokely Carmichael and others. During this time, Rush formed the Free Medical Clinic in Chicago. It was later that Rush would confront the political establishment with a more traditional approach.
Rush ran for alderman of Chicago's Second Ward in 1975, but lost the election. Rush later won that same seat in 1983; and he continued to serve as an alderman until 1992, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Rush participated on the subcommittees on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protections, and Energy and Power, as well as on the House Committee on Commerce. These three entities accounted for three-quarters of all national legislation. During his term, Rush served as member of the U.S. delegation of the North Atlantic Assembly, and sponsored many community-based initiatives.
In 2022, Rush announced that he would not seek reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ann Campbell-Kendrick is a prominent activist and former member of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. She joined the Party at age twenty and served as the acting communications secretary, helping to share the Party's political agenda and community initiatives.
Working closely with leaders like Chairman Fred Hampton, she played a key role in the organization's fight against police brutality and its advocacy for proper education, better jobs, and housing. Today, Campbell-Kendrick continues to share her legacy as an active participant in the Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party
Related Titles
A captivating account of the most corrupt and blood-soaked chapters in Chicago law enforcement history
In December 1969, the FBI, the Chicago Police Department, and the office of States Attorney, led by rising political star Edward V. Hanrahan, conspired to assassinate...