Inspired by true events, Judas and the Black Messiah illustrates the infiltration of the Illinois Black Panther Party, leading to the assassination of Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton.
I never learned about this in school (no surprise), so I was eager to watch this portion of Black history.
Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Here are some of the most powerful parts of the film:
1. When snippets of the uproar that followed Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination are shown.
2. When Fred talks about revolution and gradual reform.
3. When Deborah Johnson tells Fred he's a poet.
4. When members of the Black Panther Party visit the Crowns (a rival group), proposing unification.
5. When Fred and Deborah both recite lines from Malcolm X's speech.
6. When the Rainbow Coalition was formed.
7. When Spurgeon "Jake" Winters is not allowed to visit Jimmy Palmer, so he begins reciting Claude McKay outside his hospital room.
8. When the Black Panthers try to defend their headquarters against the police.
9. When the Crowns help the Black Panthers rebuild their headquarters.
10. When Fred gets out of prison and greets Deborah, who found out she was pregnant while he was away.
11. When Fred gives a speech after being released from jail.
12. When Deborah reads Fred a poem that she wrote.
13. When Jake is killed during a shootout with police.
14. When Deborah tells Fred that the party and the people will protect their unborn child.
15. When Deborah is only steps away from a drugged Fred when he is shot to death during a police raid.
16. When Bill O'Neal is compensated for his infiltration of the Black Panther Party.
17. When a photo of the real Mother Akua Njeri (formerly known as Deborah Johnson) and her son, Fred Hampton Jr., is shown.
18. When a clip of the real Fred Hampton speaking illustrates just how passionate he was.
"The workers need to begin to learn that their job is to struggle against the bosses..." — Chairman Fred Hampton
Again, the man was a great speaker.
19. And finally, when the film reveals that a civil rights lawsuit surrounding the raid that killed Fred Hampton and Mark Clark and injured several others was settled over 10 years later.
This new biopic, "Judas and the Black Messiah," brings light to the police killing of Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton.
How did I not know about all of this before the film?
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