Mark Clark (activist)

Mark Clark (June 28, 1947 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist and member of the Black Panther Party (BPP). Clark was instrumental in the creation of the enduring Free Breakfast Program in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois, as well as the Peoria branch's engagement in local rainbow coalition politics, primarily revolving around the anti-war movement. He was killed on December 4, 1969, with Fred Hampton, state chairman of the Black Panthers, during a predawn Chicago Police raid. In January 1970, a coroner's jury held an inquest and ruled the deaths of Clark and Hampton to be justifiable homicide. Survivors and the relatives of Clark and Hampton filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the federal government (specifically the FBI). It was settled in November 1982, with each entity paying $616,333 to a group of nine plaintiffs.