[Lee Jong-gil's Film Reading] Persistent Black Issues, Is It Because of Judas's Betrayal?

Movie 'Judas and the Black Messiah'

The Black Panther Party was an organization that followed the militant struggle line of African American civil rights activist Malcolm X (1925?1965). It was organized to resist violent police repression and adhered to Black nationalism and communism. The party's platform included the power for Black people to determine their own destiny, equal healthcare insurance systems, and employment opportunities. However, due to its radical tendency to take up arms in resistance, it provoked strong responses from the FBI and the police, leading to its downfall.

In the film Judas and the Black Messiah, the Messiah is Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), the Chicago chapter leader of the Black Panther Party. He advocates that the people must unite to win the political war. He gains great support from local residents by providing free meals and educational programs. His influence grows, and he becomes the national spokesperson for the Black Panther Party, even stepping in for the leadership that was destroyed by arrests, trials, and exile.

Director Shaka King shows this process through the perspective of Bill O'Neal (Keith Stanfield), a Judas-like figure who was bribed by the FBI to leak information about the Black Panther Party. He significantly contributes to the police's removal of Hampton. King places the documentary Eyes on the Prize 2, made 20 years later, at the beginning and end of the film. O'Neal is asked, "What would you say to your son about what you did back then?" The answer comes in O'Neal's real voice after the film ends: "I don't know what to say, but I was someone who struggled too. That's the important fact... History will judge my actions."

A traitor who betrayed his comrades, caught in the FBI's trap. The underlying story demands much from Black people today, regardless of the state's responsibility and role. This is because not all misfortunes can be blamed solely on the remaining social discrimination. Rebuilding families and communities and nurturing hope and dreams for the future in children is the responsibility of Black people themselves. In that sense, Black people must wage a fierce battle with themselves. Perhaps because O'Neal thinks there are not many such people, he asserts that he himself struggled.

In fact, the majority of Black people at the time were negative about militant struggle. According to a 1967 public opinion survey by the news magazine Life, over 90% of Black people preferred integrated movements involving both Black and white people. The strong momentum was proven through elections. In November 1967, Carl Stokes and Richard Hatcher, both Black, were elected mayors of Cleveland, Ohio, and Gary, Indiana, respectively. Gary was a city with an overwhelmingly large number of Black voters. In contrast, Cleveland had 62% white voters. Stokes had to bring skeptical Black voters to the polls and maintain a balance between Black and white voters.

Previously, Black people had also entered city councils and other positions. However, most of them clung to influential white politicians, limiting their value to merely bringing in Black votes. The candidacy of a strong Black mayoral candidate was rather a threat to their vested interests. When Stokes ran for mayor of Cleveland, only one out of seven Black city council members supported him.

The ongoing Black issues are problems for all Americans. However, those who best understand the complexity and causes are Black people themselves. They cannot rely on affirmative action policies forever. Even if affirmative action continues, it is useless without Black people's self-reflection and awakening. Former President Barack Obama often mentioned Korea's education system and students' motivation to achieve. Could it be that behind this was a heartfelt concern about Black people's self-reflection and awakening?