“Judas and the Black Messiah,” which premiered Feb. 12, transports viewers to Chicago in the late 1960s, focusing on Illinois Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton’s rapid rise through the organization’s ranks and the coordinated efforts by national and local law enforcement to stop him by any means necessary, resulting in the notorious predawn raid in which Hampton and Mark Clark were gunned down by Chicago police.
We interviewed the film’s stars, Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield, reviewed the movie and took a deep dive into the Chicago history that informed the film.
In interviews with entertainment reporter Evan F. Moore, Kaluuya and Stanfield said they were “deeply moved” by Hampton’s speeches while doing research for their roles. Moore also caught up with Fred Hampton Jr., who was born weeks after his father’s murder and played a pivotal role in forming the movie. Hampton Jr. discussed taking director Shaka King on a tour of his father’s childhood home in Maywood and becoming a consultant on set.
Some of the actors Moore interviewed remarked that they never learned about Hampton in the schools they attended, but rather from their communities. Using reporting from our archives, we compiled an overview of Hampton’s life, starting from when he was born in south suburban Argo, and the circumstances leading up to his assassination. We also explain what led to the unraveling of the narrative police tried to spin.
