Women of the Movement

Did You Know?

• In 1955, Mamie Till-Mobley's son Emmett Till was murdered in Mississippi during the Jim Crow era.
• Her fight to get justice for him helped to spawn the civil rights movement.
• The series is based on the book Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement by Devery S. Anderson.

Production

The project began in 2016 as an untitled miniseries about Emmett Till, developed for HBO by Jay-Z, Will Smith, and Aaron Kaplan through their companies Roc Nation, Overbrook Entertainment, and Kapital Entertainment. While at HBO, they joined forces with Rosanna Grace and Nicole Tabs of Serendipity Group Inc, John P. Middleton and Alex Foster of The Middleton Media Group, and David Clark of Mazo Partners. After leaving HBO, the concept shifted to highlight women’s roles in the civil rights movement, and the series, now called Women of the Movement, started development in April 2020. ABC officially ordered the series on August 28, 2020, the 65th anniversary of Till’s murder, with Marissa Jo Cerar as writer and Gina Prince-Bythewood directing the first episode. Adrienne Warren was cast as Mamie Till-Mobley on October 16, 2020. Niecy Nash was initially set to play Alma Carthan, Till’s grandmother, but Tonya Pinkins took over the role on January 6, 2021. Cedric Joe was cast as Emmett Till on December 3, 2020. Other cast members included Glynn Turman as Mose Wright, Ray Fisher as Gene Mobley, and Chris Coy, Julia McDermott, and Carter Jenkins as J. W. Milam, Carolyn Bryant, and Roy Bryant. Recurring roles went to Joshua Caleb Johnson, Leslie Silva, Chris Butler, Alex Désert, Miles Fowler, Tongayi Chirisa, Jason Turner, Daniel Abeles, Gary Basaraba, and Timothy Hutton.