Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film


132: Telling the Story of Fred Hampton

March 04, 2021

The new Hollywood film “Judas and the Black Messiah” is based on the lives of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton and the person who betrayed him, FBI informant William O’Neal. The film’s director Shaka King has credited documentaries for playing a key role in his research. One of his main influences was “Eyes on the Prize II” (1990) that scored the journalistic feat of interviewing O’Neal after he had gone into a federal witness protection program. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews four members of the “Eyes” team - directors Louis Massiah and Terry Kay Rockefeller along with researchers Noland Walker and Bennett Singer. They describe how they got O’Neal to talk, why questions still linger about his reported suicide, and the legacy of the Black Panthers.