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A miniseries produced by Jay-Z and Will Smith on the life of Emmett Till and his mother has been picked up by ABC.
On Friday (August 28), the American television network officially greenlit Women Of The Movement, a six-episode limited series focusing on Mamie Till Mobley and the moments sparking the beginning of the Civil Rights movement (as per Deadline).
Emmett Till was killed by two white men in Mississippi on August 28, 1955. The Chicago teen’s casket remained open at his funeral at the request of Mobley who wanted attendees to see how her son was brutalised and mutilated.
Till’s death set in motion the Civil Rights Movement, resulting in the 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act.
Announced on the 65th anniversary of Till’s murder, Women Of The Movement is produced by a team made up of Jay-Z, Will Smith, Aaron Kaplan, Jay Brown and Tyan “Ty Ty” Smith of Roc Nation, Jamie Lassiter of Overbrook Entertainment and others.
Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball) is set to direct the show’s first episode when it premieres in 2021. Marissa Jo Cerar will serve as series writer.
: Mamie Till Mobley stands before a portrait of her slain son, Emmett Till, in her Chicago home on July 28, 1995. Photo: Beth A. Keiser/AP. Retrieved from “Civil Rights Activists Seek Justice For Racial Violence in the name of Emmett Till” by Alice Speri for The Intercept. • • • Emmett Till was born today in 1941 (July 25, 1941). He would have been 79 years-old. We honor Emmett Till’s life as well as his mother, Mamie Till Mobley (; November 23, 1921 – January 6, 2003) a civil rights activist who fought tirelessly for justice for Till’s murder and for racial justice and equity. We will remember you both always. • • • #blackwomenradicals #mamietillmobley #emmetttill“I am thrilled to bring this project to television,” Cerar said. “It is unfortunately very timely, and my hope is to give the audience a chance to learn who Emmett Till really was – the boy, rather than the victim or the martyr – while also showcasing Mamie’s astonishing strength in the face of a mother’s worst nightmare.”
She added: “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.”
The series was originally set to air on HBO five years ago with a different writer attached, however the network didn’t pick up the series.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Jay-Z will be launching a New York university, marking his first foray into higher education.
The rap icon has joined forces with Brooklyn’s Long Island University to launch the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment. It will provide students with the chance to study undergraduate degrees in music, music technology, entrepreneurship and production and even sports management.
Meanwhile, Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams have released their collaborative new song, ‘Entrepreneur’.
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