Women of the Movement, a six-episode limited series focusing on Mamie Till Mobley’s fight for justice after the murder of her son Emmett Till, has been greenlit by ABC.
In 1955, Emmett Till who was only 14 was tortured and murdered for reportedly asking a young white woman out on a date, while visiting relatives in Mississippi. Till’s mother Mamie insisted on an open-casket public funeral shocking the country with the image of her son’s mutilated body. Devoted to seeking justice for her son, she later successfully toured telling his story.
Now on the 65th anniversary of Emmett Till, Women of the Movement from writer Marissa Jo Cerar and producing team which includes Jay-Z, Will Smith, and Aaron Kaplan and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith of Roc Nation among others is set to bring the story of Mamie’s efforts to life.
Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Old Guard, Shots Fired) will be directing the first episode of the series, created by Cerar and inspired by Devery S. Anderson’s book Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement by Devery S. Anderson.
A long-time passion project for Jay-Z, Smith, and Kaplan, Women of the Movement began five years ago as an Emmett Till mini-series – also based on the book – for HBO from a different writer.
When the project moved from HBO, the producers reinvented and expanded the idea, deciding to focus on the many strong and important women of the civil rights movement such as Mamie Till, with Cerar being brought in to pen the re-conceived series about the brave fight of these women against inequalities.
Speaking of her involvement Cerar said:
“I am thrilled to bring this project to television. It is unfortunately very timely, and telling Emmett and Mamie’s story is a responsibility I have not taken lightly since I began this journey last year, because this is more than a tragedy; it’s a story about a mother’s unwavering love of her son and her commitment to bettering the lives of all Black people. I can’t wait to start filming. With the brilliant Gina Prince-Bythewood as our director, we could not be in better hands.”
Prince-Bythewood added, “the story of Emmett Till and Mamie Till is not one I want to tell. It is a story I need to tell.”
ABC which has been looking to focus on female-driven stories has envisioned. Women of the Movement as an anthology chronicling the civil rights movement as told by the women behind it. The series is set to premiere in 2021.
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