More than 60 people crowded into the Ward Chapel A.M.E. Church for a dedication and installation of an historical marker about Black Panther Defense Captain Mark Clark. It was held June 28, on what would have been Clark’s 78th birthday had he not been shot to death by police in a controversial raid on a Chicago Black Panther residence.
The plaque commemorating the program and Clark is a key stop on the Black Panther Party Heritage Trail in Illinois, recognized by the National Register of Historic Places – and the only such marker downstate.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to witness this day,” said the Rev. Dr. Elaine Gordon of the church, who along with pastor Cyrus Burns led the proceedings. “His legacy lives on in perpetuity to inspire generations to come [with] his willingness to take risks, to step outside the norm and do what is right.”
Part of Clark’s doing what was right was establishing a free breakfast program for children operating out of the Ward Chapel church.
Born at St. Francis to a large family, Mark is remembers as a bright, athletic youngster who attended Roosevelt School and was mentored in part by Juliette Whittaker at Carver Center. He eventually was introduced to the Black Panther Party by a California relative and joined the organization.
In the spring of 1969, he organized the Peoria chapter of about 50 Black Panthers and an additional 20 or so regular supporters who helped Clark run the free breakfast program.
Others made brief remarks, people from the NAACP and the City of Peoria (Councilwoman Denise Jackson), but perhaps the most stirring was Gloria Clark Jackson, Clark’s sister and author of the book “Mark Clark: Soul of a Black Panther.”
One of several family members present, Gloria has said it’s vital to correct the false narrative about Clark and the negative stereotype of the Panthers, a need made timely when some powers try to delete facts from public spaces and even schools.
“He was not a troublemaker, but a peacemaker, a freedom fighter,” the family said. “He was part of this life and ministry of this community. He did things [here] when others did not – when people knew it was the right thing to do.”
In the early morning of Dec. 4, 1969, police stormed the Illinois Black Panther Party apartment in Chicago and killed Chairman Fred Hampton and shot Mark in the chest, killing him instantly and causing the gun he’d been holding to discharge as he fell. It was the only gunshot not fired from police. Thirteen years later, much of the truth had come out and his family received a settlement from a civil-rights lawsuit.
After Clark’s Peoria funeral reportedly drew about 1,000 mourners hear Whitaker and others speak, Clark was buried in Springdale Cemetery. But people haven’t forgotten.
“We lost a true servant of the people,” said Leila Willis, executive director of the Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. “We want to preserve and celebrate the life and legacy of Mark Clark.”
