Is 'Judas and the Black Messiah' based on a true story? Know all details here

The American biographical drama film, Judas and the Black Messiah has captivated audiences ever since it was released. Helmed by Shaka King, the screenplay of this film is written by King and Will Berson, based on a story by King, Berson, as well as Kenny and Keith Lucas. The moving film is set in Chicago, and focuses on the betrayal of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s, at the hands of William O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), an FBI informant. Ever since the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021 on February 1, fans have been curious to know is Judas and the Black Messiah a true story?

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Is Judas and the Black Messiah a true story?

In Judas and the Black Messiah, Daniel Kaluuya plays Hampton, the charismatic chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. LaKeith Stanfield as William O’Neal, a member of the party and the head of Hampton’s security detail, as well as an FBI informant. According to a report in Time Magazine, Judas and the Black Messiah is a somewhat fictionalized version of a factual incident.

It narrates the story of two men who were supposedly devoted to the same cause. It was the one that arose in response to the country’s entrenched racism, and its urgency was intensified by the despair that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. However, Judas and the Black Messiah cuts too close to the bone when it portrays the story of one man’s betrayal of another. A fatal breach of loyalty in the film destroys the lives of both men, roughly 20 years apart.

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How did the real Hampton die?

The real-life Hampton was shot by police while asleep in his bed in the early morning hours of December 4, 1969. At first, the official story at least, according to the Chicago Police Department and Cook County State's Attorney Edward V. Hanrahan claimed that members of the Black Panther Party opened fire on police when officers arrived at the political organization's headquarters on Chicago's West Side at 4:45 a.m. Another report in Newsweek reveals that the real-life Hampton was shot by police while asleep in his bed in the early morning hours of December 4, 1969. Hanrahan claimed that members of the Black Panther Party opened fire on police when officers arrived at the political organization's headquarters on Chicago's West Side at 4:45 a.m. Hence, the cops had to fire in return.

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A Chicago Daily article published at the time reveals that the officers reportedly had a warrant authorizing a search for weapons. Hanrahan claimed that police announced themselves upon arrival and that the Black Panther members responded with a barrage of gunfire on the cops. The shooting went on for quite some time and when it stopped both parties found the 21-year-old Hampton dead. Another Black Panther party member, 22-year-old Mark Clark was dead too.

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Images' Source: Still from Judas and The Black Messiah (Warner Bros)