Women Of The Movement - What We Know So Far
It's been over six decades since 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered for allegedly flirting with a white woman. His killers weren't convicted, but the investigation into his death was reopened and then closed again as recently as December of 2021. The Justice Department failed to find evidence that the woman lied in her testimony, while Till's confessed murderers had long since passed away (via CNN).
Although the injustice of Till's murder was crucial to the start of the Civil Rights Movement, his story is often misrepresented with myriad myths surrounding it, according to USA Today. But in 2017, author Devery S. Anderson published a thorough account in the book "Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement," with new information and interviews. Now, ABC's upcoming limited series "Women of the Movement" aims to adapt the book, with a focus on how Till's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, did not let her son's murder go forgotten. Here's everything we know about "Women of the Movement."
When is the release date for Women of the Movement?
"Women of the Movement" will air with a two-hour premiere on Thursday, January 6, on ABC at 8 p.m. Eastern, according to Deadline. Additionally, it will be available for streaming on Hulu. The limited series will be six episodes long, with the episodes released in three parts (via ABC).
Deadline reported that the series was filmed earlier this year in Mississippi and Tennessee. At its helm is creator and showrunner Marissa Jo Cerar, who's known for her work writing and producing "The Fosters," "13 Reasons Why," and "The Handmaid's Tale." She wrote the first episode, which was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood ("The Old Guard," "Love & Basketball"). Jay-Z and Will Smith are among the show's executive producers.
To create the series, they consulted members of Emmett Till's family, including his cousin Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr., who was there when Till was kidnapped, Parker Jr.'s wife, Dr. Marvel Parker, and Till's cousin Ollie Gordon. Christopher Benson, who co-wrote "Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime that Changed America" with Mamie Till-Mobley, also consulted on "Women of the Movement," according to ABC and Northwestern.
Who is in the cast of Women of the Movement?
The cast for "Women of the Movement" includes a mix of longtime actors, Broadway stars, and fresh faces. In the role of Mamie Till-Mobley, Emmet Till's mom, is Adrienne Warren. Recently, she won a Tony for her Broadway performance in the starring role of "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical," which came after parts in the productions of "Bring It On: The Musical" and "Shuffle Along." Outside of that, she's had a handful of one-episode acting roles, but "Women of the Movement" will be her first lead role in a series. Emmett Till will be played by Cedric Joe ("Space Jam: A New Legacy"), with "Justice League" actor Ray Fisher as Gene Mobley, Mamie's second husband.
Fans of "Fargo" Season 4 will recognize Glynn Turman, who plays Emmett's great-uncle Mose Wright, whom he was visiting in Mississippi. Turman has had a robust career going back to the '60s, starting with his role as Lew Miles on the soap opera "Peyton Place." Amidst plenty of other roles, he's more recently known for playing Jeremiah Kaan on "House of Lies" and Mayor Clarence Royce on "The Wire." Mamie's mother, Alma Carthan, is played by Tonya Pinkins, who's known for being Livia Frye on the soap "All My Children" and for her Broadway performances.
Till's murderers Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam will be played by Carter Jenkins ("After We Fell") and Chris Coy ("The Deuce"), respectively. Timothy Hutton, who's known as Hugh Crain on "The Haunting of Hill House" and Nathan Ford on "Leverage," plays one of their lawyers, Jesse J. Breland. In the role of Carolyn Bryant, the woman Emmett whistled at, is Julia McDermott, who will be appearing in her first screen role, according to ABC.
What is the plot of Women of the Movement?
"Women of the Movement" will tell the story of the Chicago-raised Emmett Till's lynching while he was visiting his family in Mississippi in 1955, a time when Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation. "He was the Trayvon Martin of the '50s," Glynn Turman, who plays Emmett's great-uncle in the series, said in a behind-the-scenes promo video. Additionally, the limited series will focus further on how his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, who has since passed away, helped spark the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement with her insistence on showing the country her son's brutalized body.
In the video, creator Marissa Jo Cerar said, "This story is about a mother who finds this unbelievable strength ... This is the story about a family who put their own feelings aside for the betterment of their people." The logline, via ABC, reads: "Unwilling to let Emmett's murder disappear from the headlines, Mamie chose to bear her pain on the world's stage, emerging as an activist for justice and igniting the civil rights movement as we know it today." Since "Women of the Movement" is using Devery S. Anderson's book as the source material, it will likely include information discovered in the course of researching the book and seek to tell a complete version of the death of Emmett Till.