The betrayal of Black Panther Party leader, Fred Hampton

Judas and the Black Messiah is a movie by Warner Bros. Pictures starring Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton, and LaKeith Stanfield as William O’Neal, that recounts the betrayal and assassination of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party.

Chairman Fred Hampton was 21 years old when he was assassinated by the FBI, who coerced a petty criminal named William O’Neal to help them silence him and the Black Panther Party.  But they could not kill Fred Hampton’s legacy and, 50 years later, his words still echo…louder than ever.

I am a revolutionary!

Chairman Fred was inspiring a generation to rise up and not back down to oppression, which put him directly in the line of fire of the government, the FBI and the Chicago Police.  But to destroy the revolution, they had to do it from both the outside…and the inside.

Though his life was cut short, Fred Hampton’s impact has continued to reverberate.  The government saw the Black Panthers as a militant threat to the status quo and sold that lie to a frightened public in a time of growing civil unrest.  But the perception of the Panthers was not reality.  In inner cities across America, they were providing free breakfasts for children, legal services, medical clinics and research into sickle cell anemia, and political education.  And it was Chairman Fred in Chicago, who, recognizing the power of multicultural unity for a common cause, created the Rainbow Coalition—joining forces with other oppressed peoples in the city to fight for equality and political empowerment.

Judas and the Black Messiah is playing on all major digital platforms.