VOD - Judas and the black messiah impact campaign Live for the people

By Mulder, 11 february 2021

The campaign Live for the people, inspired by Shaka King’s groundbreaking film, Judas and the Black Messiah, in theaters and streaming tomorrow, February 12. To support the campaign, Participant Media has partnered with The Dr. Huey P Newton Foundation for a free drive-in movie event at Liberation park in Oakland on February 19.

The contributions of the Black Panther Party will be celebrated in Oakland throughout the month of February as part of Black History Month. Among the highlights will be a street naming initiative spearheaded by Fredrika Newton, the widow of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P Newton. The official naming of a three-block section of 9th Street to “Dr. Huey P. Newton Way” in West Oakland near the location where the Black Panther Party co-founder, Dr. Huey P. Newton, took his last breath will occur on the morning of February 17th and include City of Oakland elected officials as well as Fredrika and her team from the Dr. Huey P Newton Foundation.

Mark your calendars:
- February 11th – At 5:30 p.m., Community Ready Corps Allies and Accomplices will host “Save the Hampton House.” The virtual fundraising event supports the purchase and restoration of the childhood home of slain Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton Sr., whose story is told in the film “Judas and the Black Messiah,” which will be released the following day in theaters, and on HBO Max where it will be available for 31 days. The event will feature conversations with Black leaders, including Fredrika Newton, Mother Comrade Akua Njeri and Chairman Fred Hampton Jr.
- February 14th – Jilchristina Vest will unveil the ongoing production of a mural entitled “#SayHer Name Movement and The Women of the Black Panther Party” on her private residence. The mural commemorates the initiatives the Black Panther Party took to provide resources to their communities through the over 60 Survival Programs the Party created. Visit the mural between Center Street and Chester starting February 14th.
- February 16th – Starting at 5:30 p.m., light projections featuring images of Huey and the Black Panther Party will be on display at the following locations: Luka’s Taproom & Lounge - Broadway and Grand , Kaiser Center – Lakeside Dr.
- February 17th – At 9:00 a.m., Fredrika Newton will join community members, including clergy, elected officials, and neighbors to unveil the newly designated “Dr. Huey P Newton Way,” a three-block stretch of 9th Street near Mandela Pkwy
- February 19th – A free drive-in movie event – “Judas and the Black Messiah” – will take place at Liberation Park in Oakland at 5:00 p.m. The Dr. Huey P Newton Foundation and the Judas and the Black Messiah impact campaign have partnered in honor of Black History Month to screen Shaka King's groundbreaking film, starring Daniel Kaluuya as the inspiring Chicago Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton, opposite LaKeith Stanfield and Dominique Fishback, that tells the story of the organized effort by the FBI to silence Hampton in 1969. The film, in theaters and on HBO Max on February 12, was produced by Oakland native Ryan Coogler, Charles D. King and Shaka King. The event is sponsored by East Oakland Collective, Ground + Soul, San Francisco Film Festival and Black Terminus AR. Find the sign-up on The Foundation’s Instagram @hueypnewtonfoundation.
- February 23rd – Internationally recognized multimedia artist Timothy B. will unveil his newest mural featuring Black Panther Party co-founders Bobby Seale and Huey Newton. Timothy B. is known for his vibrant murals featured throughout Oakland. Visit his latest creation on 8th and Clay Street in Old Oakland.
- February 24th – The Foundation will participate with five professional sports franchises from the Bay Area in a first-ever joint initiative to celebrate Black History Month. “The Black Panther Party Celebration of Activism” program will feature Black Panther Party alum, athletes from Bay Area professional sports teams and local Bay Area artists and activists. The groundbreaking event will showcase a discussion of the origins and outcomes of Black Panther Party-led activism told through the lens of the “Black Panther Party 10 Point Platform and Program; What We Want, What We Believe” and how it has helped to shape the activism in local communities today. 

“This Black History Month, I will reflect back on the beginnings of the Black Panther Party nearly 55 years ago, as well as on the countless tragedies against Black men and women just last year alone,” said Fredrika Newton. “With that in mind, I will move through 2021 with a renewed sense of empowerment and ask that we all find a way to stand on the shoulders of those who fought for Black Power in the past and successfully deliver it now.”

Later in 2021, the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation will be unveiling a bronze bust of Huey, which will be placed on the newly named Dr. Huey P. Newton Way at Mandela Parkway. Internationally renowned sculptor Dana King is creating the bust.

The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation is a tax-deductible 501(c)(3) that was found in 1993 by David Hilliard and Fredrika Newton. For more than 25 years, they have led the Black Panther Party Legacy bus tours, consulted on films, published books and have been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle and KQED. Follow on Instagram @hueypnewtonfoundation

Synopsis Judas and the black messiah :
Based in late 1960s Chicago, petty criminal William O'Neal agrees to work as an informant for the FBI in order to infiltrate the Black Panther Party and take down the chairman of its Illinois chapter Fred Hampton.

Judas and the Black Messiah
Directed by Shaka King
Produced by Charles D. King, Ryan Coogler, Shaka King
Screenplay by Will Berson, Shaka King
Story by Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenny Lucas, Keith Lucas
Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Algee Smith, Martin Sheen
Music by Mark Isham, Craig Harris
Cinematography : Sean Bobbitt
Edited by Kristan Sprague
Production companies : MACRO, Participant, Bron Creative, Proximity
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date : February 1, 2021 (Sundance), February 12, 2021 (United States)
Running time : 126 minutes

(Source : press release)