Fredrick Allen Hampton was a pre-law student at Triton College in River Grove, Illinois. He chose the field because he wanted to have a deeper understanding of the political and judicial systems that had been threatening his and other marginalized communities for centuries. His passion for reform led him to becoming the deputy chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in 1968, a role which propelled him to becoming nationally prominent within the party, a revolutionary in the Black community and a threat to the US government. On December 4, 1969, the FBI murdered him while he slept. He was only 21 years old.
At 31 years old, Academy Award-nominated actor Daniel Kaluuya is ten years older than Hampton was at the peak of his career, but in studying him for the film, he found himself in awe of the influence, intelligence and charisma of a man so young. Kaluuya has acted in a number of powerful Black films, but Kaluuya feels that playing Chairman Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah has been the most meaningful role of his career.
“When I read the script and realized what he said and how he thought, I was like ‘Wow – I wanna be a vessel for this. I feel like this is what I’m here for; it feels like my whole career has been leading up to this point,’” Kaluuya said.
The film explores Hampton’s career as a powerful leader who mobilized disadvantaged groups from all races across the South Side of Chicago against police brutality and other forms of systemic oppression, and how the FBI planted an informant, William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) to infiltrate the Party and eventually bring Hampton down.
“The real Judas was the government – betraying their own people.”
O’Neal, the Judas in the title, is one of the first instances of duality that we see in the film – at face value, he seems like a selfish person who easily agrees to betray his people for selfish reasons. Yet, as the film goes on, we witness him gradually identifying with the cause and principles of the Black Panthers. He shows that humans are innately complex – their choices in life are hardly ever black and white.
“I personally don’t believe that anyone is inherently good or evil. I don’t think that those words can accurately describe the complexity of what it means to be a human,” Lakeith said about his character. “He [O’Neal] made some decisions that I don’t agree with, but, definitely, it seems to me that he was put in a place where he didn’t have a choice. His back was against the wall. Who put him against the wall? That’s more important than his own actions, to me. The real Judas was the government – betraying their own people.”
“He’s a 21 year old man falling in love – falling in love with himself, falling in love with life, and realizing that he has a purpose away from awakening and protecting his people.”
While the film tells the powerful and tragic tale of Hampton’s rise and fall as a leader, his duality comes to the forefront when the film begins to explore his life outside of being the Panthers’ beloved Chairman. Outside of that role, he was simply Fred: a young man trying to understand the ways of the world, and the ways of women. The blossoming of his relationship with the meek, poetic young activist Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback) – who today goes by Akua Njeri – showed the softer side of his otherwise militant persona.
“That’s the importance of those intimate scenes with Chairman Fred and seeing him quite shy,” Kaluuya said. “He’s a 21 year old man falling in love – falling in love with himself, falling in love with life, and realizing that he has a purpose away from awakening and protecting his people.”
“I’m honored that I help to get humanize Chairman Fred,” Fishback said. “A lot of times when we see these larger than life people, we think ‘Oh, we’re nothing like them. Look at them! They must have everything under control.’ Then we get to see these little moments when he’s shy, when it isn’t his area of expertise and we can somehow see ourselves in these people. So, we can be revolutionary. We can make a difference. All it takes is deep conviction.”
“Are you looking at yourself from you? Or are you looking at yourself from what people think you can do?”
Looking into Hampton’s life from a more balanced lens helps us to see that his accomplishments, influence and legacy are not far fetched. Despite what the title says, he was not a god-like messiah that was more exceptional than any other person who came before or after him – at his core, he was a regular man from the South Side of Chicago. What set him apart was his deep conviction: his unwavering confidence in his ability to spark change, despite the forces around him who tried to thwart his plans and aspirations.
“It’s less about what you can do, and more about how you see yourself,” Kaluuya said. “Are you looking at yourself from you? Or are you looking at yourself from what people think you can do?”
Kaluuya also found similarities between the core mission of the Black Panthers and his personal journey that led him to where he is today.
“I was blessed enough to have my mom protect me from the mentalities of outside, so I just walk in the world like I can do anything. Why not? The only ‘why not’ would come from me,” Kaluuya said. “That’s what I really want college students to get: anyone has the ability to be whoever they want to be. All the Black Panther Party did was give you the tools so that you could be you.”
A film like Judas and the Black Messiah being released at a time when there is a rightfully harsh spotlight being cast on racial inequality in America creates room for discussions about the rewriting of history. Black groups and leaders are oftentimes villainized in order to create a narrative where they are the irrational instigators, and the institutions in power are seemingly never at fault. However, films like this will help to set the record straight for current and future generations, so they can have a better understanding of how the past continues to influence the present.
“I want kids in Chicago to see the movie. I want white people to see the movie,” Stanfield said, when asked about the impact he hopes for the film to have. “The main thing is, you take away what you bring into it. If you’re biased, and you don’t wanna see what the truth is with Fred Hampton, you ain’t gon’ see nothing when you walk away. If you come with an open mind, you might be able to learn about somebody that you don’t really know about, and that can help us prevent making the same mistakes in the future.”