MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis' National Civil Rights Museum is giving an early access look to the ABC historical drama series, Women of the Movement. On Wednesday, December 15, the museum will host a virtual screening of the series that includes the first two episodes focusing on Mamie Till-Mobley.
Till-Mobley is the mother of Emmett Till, the 14-year old boy that was kidnapped and lynched in Mississippi after reportedly whistling at a white woman. Once her son's body was returned to his native Chicago, Till-Mobley held an open casket funeral to show the world her son's brutalized body.
"She was a little bitty woman that was a powerhouse," said Faith Morris, chief marketing and external affairs officer for the National Civil Rights Museum. "Mamie Till-Mobley is a mother of Emmett Till and very few people know a lot about her, but they will through this series."
Till-Mobley's actions helped jumpstart the Civil Rights Movements. Her actions inspired other Civil Rights icons to begin their work including Rosa Parks.
"It's because of Mamie Till that three months later, Rosa Parks said she was thinking about Emmett Till's mom and it was then where she decided not to give up her seat to a white male in Montgomery, Alabama, but Mamie Till really could be seen indeed, as the godmother of the modern Civil Rights Movement," said Ryan Jones, museum educator.
Morris said that black women have always been a major part of the ground work that moved the Civil Rights Movement forward. From the Montgomery Bus Boycott to the Greensboro Sit-ins, black women played a part in changing the nation.
"If you know anything about the Civil Rights Movement, women were always a part of it. Maybe not always in the forefront, but absolutely a very important part of what was going on, a lot of good work was done by women in the movement," Morris said.
The National Civil Rights Museum's early virtual screening will include a panel to follow. Morris will moderate a group that includes showrunner Marissa Jo Cerar, actors including Adrienne Warren as Mamie Till-Mobley and Cedric Joe acting as Emmett Till and members of Emmett Till's family.
If you were not able to get a spot for the virtual screening, Women of the Movement will debut January 6th on ABC.