It was absolutely necessary to make sure that we presented the Panthers in a more rational way and not the character they have become, you know, the militant black people in black berets carrying guns. That was one side of them, and mostly open, but Chicago, Illinois chapter, they were on the ground doing community organization. And Hampton was a prototype of a community organizer and also happened to be a great lecturer. So he was able to combine those oracle skills of Dr. King with the fire of Malcolm X at a young age. I think that gets lost on people, too, that they were so young, they were kids. But they were supposed to be like, ‘this system of capitalism, it is not for us. The only way we can settle our communities is to repair our community. ‘
And Hampton, he just knew that intuitively, and we wanted to make sure – if you’re going to make a movie starring Fred Hampton, you have to make sure you convey his message. And his message was about unity, love, bringing people together and working as a group, as a community for upliftment. That was Hampton. It doesn’t matter what you think of the Panthers. If you study Hampton and read about his story, talk to people who knew Fred Hampton, like everyone everywhere, no doubt saying, this was a man who wanted to the community and for the people. It was not about being a terrorist. He was about to build his community.