Women of the Movement: The story of Emmett Till’s mother

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The story of Emmett Till’s mother is finally coming to the big screen. “Women of the Movement,” which airs on ABC next year, will tell the story of Mamie Till-Mobley and her continued pursuit of justice for her son, Emmett Till, who was killed in 1955 after upsetting a white grocery store cashier.

Emmett Till was just 14-years-old when he was murdered. Meanwhile, his mother, Ms. Till-Mobley, spent the remainder of her life fighting for justice on behalf of the innocent young boy.

In a newly-released clip from the show, Ms. Till-Mobley states, “His name is Emmett Till. I want people to know he is a good boy,” while stating plainly the facts of Emmett’s murder at the hands of a white mob.

After Emmett’s death in 1955, Ms. Till-Mobley spent the rest of her life committed to fighting for civil and human rights for all Black men, women, and families. She died in 2003 at age 81.

Noted actor Glynn Turman, who portrays Mose Wright in the series Emmett Till was the “Trayvon Martin of the 1950s.” Decades after Emmett Till’s murder, young Trayvon was yet another innocent Black boy who was killed by an angry white bystander.

Ms. Till-Mosley herself believed that the Black community must come together in demanding justice and liberation from white supremacy and systemic racism. In another scene from the show, Ms. Till-Mosley notes, “the death of my son has shown me that whatever happens to any of us had better be the business of all of us.”

Ms. Till-Mobley will be played by Tony winner Adrienne Warren, while Cedric Joe plays Emmett Till. “Women of the Movement” is produced by Jay-Z, Will Smith, and Gina Prince-Bythewood. The show is based on the book “Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement” by Devery S. Anderson.