Black leaders say they’ll use the ballot box to push through a Chicago ordinance honoring a former Black Panther.

Fred Hampton was killed by police in a 1969 raid on his West Side apartment.

Three congressmen joined about 70 other people today to demand a street sign bearing Hampton’s name.

But Congressman Bobby Rush says the issue is about more than recognizing Hampton.

“This is about the dignity that we have as a people,” he says. “Can we as a people define for ourselves who our heroes are and who our she-roes are.”

Rush says if politicians want the black community’s support in the primaries, they must declare where they stand on the issue.

The City Council is expected to vote on the ordinance later this month.