Algee Smith has joined the upcoming film about Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton, previously titled Jesus Was My Homeboy.
He joins a cast including Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Dominique Fishback and Ashton Sanders.
Kaluuya stars as Hampton and Stanfield is William O’Neal, the man who betrayed Hampton to the FBI.
This is the description of the film according to Deadline, who first broke the news: The film will follow the rise and untimely demise of Hampton as seen through O’Neal’s eyes. It will explore how the FBI infiltrated the Black Panthers, the psychology of their informant and the notorious assassination of the young political leader who died at the age of only 21.
Hampton quickly rose to the top of the ranks of the Illinois BPP chapter and became the deputy chairman of the national organization. As he became more visible and charismatic, he became a target of the FBI and was killed along with another Panther member, Mark Clark, in a controversial raid carried about by the Chicago PD and FBI. Though the deaths were first ruled as justifiable homicides, further investigations took place, and some settlements were given due to civil suits. O’Neal, who gave the FBI the floorplans of Hampton’s apartment, died by suicide in 1990.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Smith will play “a young man who is Hampton’s fellow member in the Black Panthers and his friend.”
Smith, who gained prominence in BET’s The New Edition Story and Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit, currently stars in HBO’s Euphoria.
This story has been updated to reflect the title change for this film.
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