Director Shaka King's Journey From 'Newlyweeds' To 'The Black Messiah'
Judas and the Black Messiah chronicles the life of Illinois Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton through the eyes of William O'Neal — the man who infiltrated the group on behalf of the FBI.
As the current chairman of the Black Panther Party Cubs, Fred Hampton, Jr. was guarded when he heard a studio wanted to make a movie about his late father, Fred Hampton. With good reason, too. The elder Hampton was the fiery and charismatic chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party. The FBI had its eye on him through a program called COINTELPRO, where they would infiltrate groups like the Black Panthers and use information to launch disinformation smear campaigns.
Hampton was in the midst of corralling disparate, multi-racial groups under the banner of the Rainbow Coalition. The idea was to organize these
