Rep. Bobby Rush, who co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, is scheduled to take part in a special program at the National Archives in Washington D.C. Wednesday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Black Power movement.
Rush has a long political history, starting with his involvement with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, an important organization during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. The congressman ultimately went on to co-found the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1967, according to a 2000 People Magazine profile. He left the group after fellow Black Panther Fred Hampton was shot and killed during a 1969 police raid.
Wednesday's event is being moderated by journalist and author A’Lelia Bundles and will also feature the daughter of former Black Panther Party chair Elaine Brown, as well as Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, among others. The panel will discuss revolutionary movements of the past and present, including the Black Panther and Black Lives Matter movements.
The program is being streamed live on YouTube.
