The Costumes in 'Judas and the Black Messiah' Offer Us a History Lesson in Social Justice

L–R: Bobby Rush (Darrell Britt-Gibson), Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), Jake Winters (Algee Smith), Jimmy Palmer (Ashton Sanders) and Judy Harmon (Dominique Thorne).

 "There are a lot of people anticipating his story being told," says "Judas and the Black Messiah" costume designer Charlese Antoinette, about the gravity and expectation involved in bringing the story of Illinois Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton to the screen. 

Starring Daniel Kaluuya as the charismatic 21-year-old community leader, the movie recounts the events leading up to Hampton's assassination by the FBI, Chicago P.D. and Cook County State's Attorney's Office on Dec. 4, 1969 — and the ultimate betrayal by teenage informant William O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield)

Antoinette jumped right into the Shaka King-directed project (which was co-produced by Ryan Coogler). She and King have been friends and colleagues since his 2012 stoner comedy "Newlyweeds" (and the 2017 satirical short "LaZercism," also starring Stanfield), and she had a head start on late-'60s civil rights movement research from designing the Spike Lee-produced sci-fi racial justice film, "See You Yesterday." So, she eagerly dove straight into examining Hampton's life, work and legacy.

Antoinette immediately found herself invigorated and inspired by her findings, which include photos of civil rights figures like Illinois BPP chapter co-founder and future Congress member Bobby Rush (played by Darrell Britt-Gibson in the film) organizing and protesting, as well as images of quotidian city life, especially those by photographer John H. White's of Chicago's South Side. She also studied many documentaries like "FBI's War on Black America" and "Death of a Black Panther: Fred Hampton," which showed Hampton and comrades establishing the Illinois chapter, building a neighborhood clinic, running the Free Breakfast for Children Program and meeting with leaders of the city's fellow oppressed groups.

                                                Stanfield as Bill O'Neal discussing the scene with King.

The first time the electrifying Kaluuya hits the screen as Chairman Fred, he's addressing and galvanizing a group of college activists, including his future partner Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback). "It was really important that his looks are really grounded in and based off of the actual photographs we have with him," says Antoinette.

She took inspiration from footage of Hampton — sitting at a table giving one of his rousing talks to a rapt audience — wearing a brown corduroy jacket and a camo bucket hat. To emulate the look and feel, Antoinette "searched high and low" for a similar "duck hunting" hat and found a rich cinnamon-brown vintage jacket with suede panels on the lapels. She allowed a bit of creative freedom for the sake of filmmaking, though: "It's just a little bit more dynamic than the one the actual Chairman Fred wore — the lapels are bigger, the colors a little bit more vibrant," she says. 

Throughout her research, Antoinette also discovered that Hampton regularly relied on "key elements" to maintain his own "utilitarian" uniform, including Clarks boots and white T-shirts tucked into military-style trousers. "Especially as he was organizing and protesting, he wore a lot of these mock-neck turtlenecks," she adds. 

Reflecting Hampton in real life, King was "really adamant" that Kaluuya only wear the black beret in specific situations. "He only wore a beret when he was with his comrades and they were doing official business," explains Antoinette.

The movie progresses further into 1969, with Hampton's influence and community unification work on the rise, and J. Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen)'s FBI even more intent on quashing the unifying "Black messiah," as the Fed Director says. As he becomes more determined and world-weary, Chairman Fred's wardrobe deepens and matures into the iconic long black leather jackets and dark shirts (above). "My PA and I actually sat on the floor and put photographs in chronological order, just based off of his facial hair and how he looked," Antoinette remembers, who also consulted the rare date stamp. "We just figured out by deductive reasoning."

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How the Black Panthers influenced today's music and fashion

From Kendrick Lamar’s performance at the 58th Grammys to Beyoncé’s “Formation” video, we’ve seen a resurgence of the ideas championed by the Black Panther Party in popular culture. The timing isn’t coincidental, given the rise of what many have described as a second wave of activism surrounding the disparities faced by communities of color in the United States.

Now, on the heels of Beyoncé invoking the Panthers’ legacy at Super Bowl 50, comes Stanley Nelson Jr’s documentary: Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, currently streaming on PBS. Nelson showcases the pivotal role the Panthers played in leading many revolutionary social movements of the ’60s and ’70s.

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Not only did they influence the rise of anti-capitalist and anti-war movements, they also called for social awareness and gender equality, among other things. However, the Panthers were not only heavily influential in the political sphere, they also impacted the art and culture of the era, and the revolutionary vibrations of their powerful rhetoric were felt well into the ’90s, and beyond.

Many of us will be familiar with the visual cliche of ’70s permed DJs, complete with oversized aviators and exaggerated lapels. This image is so intrinsically connected with ’70s culture we rarely question its actual origins. What caused people from every conceivable background to adopt afros, for instance? (Even if it meant getting a chemical perm to achieve the look.) Why did people suddenly want to cover half of their faces with dark sunglasses?


To understand this, one has to realize that the culture of the ’70s, from fashion to music, was intimately tied to the radical social movements of the time. There was an incredible amount of student backlash against the disastrous Vietnam War, which brought with it a rise in anti-capitalist sentiments and increased sympathy for causes like the Civil Rights movement and women’s rights movements. Essentially, the status quo was no longer acceptable to the nation’s youth.

So what is the relationship between the social movements of the ’60s and ’70s and sartorial hallmarks often associated with them?

One of the many connecting links is the Black Panther Party. As a black liberation and black power movement, the Panthers espoused, among other things, an ideology that embraced and celebrated non-Eurocentric standards of beauty. “Black is beautiful” became a rallying cry as the Panthers actively resisted the Europeanization of beauty standards and encouraged their supporters to wear their hair in natural styles and love the skin they were in.

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