132: Telling the Story of Fred Hampton

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 co-director 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. Further resources: - Learn more about our guests: Louis Massiah (executive director, Scribe Video Center), Terry Kay Rockefeller, Bennett Singer (co-director, Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin and Cured), Noland Walker (co-programmer, ITVS’s Independent Lens) - Watch all 14 episodes of Eyes on the Prize on Kanopy This podcast conversation touches upon episode 9 “Power!” about the Black Panthers and especially focuses on episode 12 “A Nation of Law?” both co-directed by Louis Massiah and Terry Kay Rockefeller. Read the book Voices of Freedom, an oral history based on interviews from "Eyes on the Prize,” edited in part by Bennett Singer.