SHAKA KING PRESENTS JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Fredrick Allen Hampton was a black activist, Marxist-Leninist and revolutionary socialist. He came to prominence in Chicago as chairman of the Illinois chapter, and deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party.
“If you dare to struggle, you dare to win. If you dare not struggle, then damn it, you don't deserve to win.”
― Fred Hampton
Forces of revolution and oppression collide in Shaka King’s blistering “Judas and the Black Messiah,” a potent and vividly drama about the FBI’s subversion and assassination of Chicago Black Panther leader Fred Hampton.
FBI Informant William O’Neal ( Lakeith Stanfield) Infiltrates Black Panther Party. William O’Neal is tasked with keeping tabs on their charismatic leader Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). A career thief O’Neal revels danger of manipulating both his comrades and his handler special agent Roy Mitchell ( Jesse Plemons). Hampton’s political prowess grows just as he’s falling in love with fellow revolutionary Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback) mean while, a battle wages for O’Neal soul will he align with the forces of good? or subdue Hampton’s and the Panthers by any means as FBI agent J Edger Hoover (Martin Sheen) Commands?
In “Judas and the Black Messiah,” gives an electrifying performance that raises the hairs on the back of your neck. As Fred Hampton, the murdered chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, Kaluuya is riveting as he prowls the stage inspiring his audiences. His speeches burn with intensity and conviction. When FBI informant William O’Neal the Judas in the title, tells his handler Roy Mitchell that Hampton “could sell salt to a slug,” it’s not hyperbole; Kaluuya makes you believe he’ll succeed in his mission to unite a “rainbow coalition” of people of all races against a common enemy. It’s stellar work that will be talked about for some time.
Fred Hampton’s preternatural ability to bring potential enemies and rivals together made him dangerous to an America all too happy with the racist status quo. So he became yet another entry in the “Black Messiah” christening sweepstakes the FBI kept awarding after their prior candidates for the title were assassinated. Hampton would be assassinated as well, on December 4, 1969, exactly 20 months after the last “Black Messiah,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed. O’Neal played a large role in facilitating this tragedy, providing Hampton’s apartment layout and even doing a bit of the FBI’s dirty work a few hours before. Since he was a trusted confidant whose ultimate goal was betrayal, the Biblical allusion in the title is an appropriate one.
REVOLUTION IN OUR LIFETIME. I AM A REVOLUTIONARY!
Fred Hampton was assassinated by the federal Bureau of Investigation on December 4, 1969. He was murdered because he was incredibly effective at uniting poor whites in Chicago with the Black Panther Party to fight racism and capitalism. No to negro imperialism no to imperialism.
“I believe I’m going to die doing the things I was born to do. I believe I’m going to die high off the people. I believe I’m going to die a revolutionary in the international revolutionary proletarian struggle.”
― Fred Hampton”
Fred Hampton’s preternatural ability to bring potential enemies and rivals together made him dangerous to an America all too happy with the racist status quo. So he became yet another entry in the “Black Messiah” christening sweepstakes the FBI kept awarding after their prior candidates for the title were assassinated. Hampton would be assassinated as well, on December 4, 1969, exactly 20 months after the last “Black Messiah,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed. O’Neal played a large role in facilitating this tragedy, providing Hampton’s apartment layout and even doing a bit of the FBI’s dirty work a few hours before. Since he was a trusted confidant whose ultimate goal was betrayal, the Biblical allusion in the title is an appropriate one.
Shaka King (left) and Lakeith Stanfield (right) on set. King providing insight and direction on the I am a revolutionary speech scene.
THE CONVERSATION.
Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield talk about their new movie, Judas and the Black Messiah, and bringing stories of Arifcan-American activism to the screen.
Shaka King embracing history is power. This film provides cinematic mythology acknowledging African American Leaders while creating a place for the Black Panther Party within modern culture and redefines African American heroism.
