Women of the Movement

First of all, Adrienne Warren is an absolutely beautiful talented young lady, as was Mamie Till-Mobley. After watching this series, I do have to say that Adrienne's performance was outstanding.

Before every episode a warning is announced that states, "This content can be triggering due to historical and current-day traumatic experiences" Well, this statement could not have been more accurate. I was triggered right from the very beginning!

Fact: "Black newborn babies in the United States are more likely to survive childbirth if they are cared for by Black doctors, but three times more likely than white Babies to die when looked after by white doctors." The nonchalant attitudes of the nurse and doctor just pissed me off. You can only imagine how differently a white woman (especially during that time)would have been treated if she was possibly running a fever, sweating profusely, in great pain, and her water broke.

Anyway, there are many people that don't appreciate films such as this one. They will make negative comments about the acting and and deliberately submit poor ratings, but never once acknowledge anything about the heinous criminal act committed against Emmett Till by two racists.

Some of them are the same people that don't want their kids to be taught about critical race theory/race education in school.

There are still many who don't want this story to be told. This person had this to say at the end of his or her review. "Do not have enough to be really empathetic" Really?! No person of color in their right mind would write something like this. Just the thought of any innocent fourteen year old being kidnapped, savagely tortured, mutilated, lynched and shot in the head by racists should be enough to make anyone feel empathetic, regardless of how poorly you feel this tragic story was portrayed. What is even sadder, Emmett Till's memorial signs were vandalized several times; a couple of them riddled with bullet holes.

Over the years I had come across the narrative of a black teenager who was killed for interacting with a white woman in the 50s and each time I was incredulous that this had happened. And now, after all this country has been through, it is important to understand the long-standing roots of this behavior. Bravo to ABC for bringing this important story of racism to its viewers. Kudos to the actors for their brave performances. Not everyone grieves by wailing over a casket, some do so by taking action. Don't expect the tears to come when you expect them to.

I began watching this series the first night it was aired. However, it wasn't an easy decision. I felt like the subject of Emmet Till's death might be hard to watch play out on television. They have covered his death in other documentaries and in. Lovecraft Country but not as the primary focus. I was concerned with knowing the details and seeing how it happened play out on tv. It's still something that happens today with police brutality and disregard for colored life. I believe the writers and actors did an exceptional job so far by giving the situation the honor and respect that it deserves.

Most of us know the 50 ft level story of Emmett Till. I am very thankful for this televised event that provided us with more intimate details as to what led up to his horrific death and the aftermath. While I am glad that this story has been told, a few things. It is way too long. At most, it should have been a 2 night event. And that's being generous. This is a powerful story that tells itself. The strumming violins and overwrought acting ironically diminishes its value. We all know tragically how the story ends. So we don't need the heavy-handedness of the directing and the music. What we needed was better editing and more nuanced storytelling. The most troubling part for me of all is Mamie Till herself. Adrienne Warren is a very good actress, but you can almost see her acting. She doesn't really inhabit the spirit of Mamie so much as she looks like a dressed up character. I hope some understand what I mean by that. If you don't, Angela Bassett and What's Love Got to Do with It. I was also deeply troubled that we never really saw her grieving before they jumped to showing the stereotypical strong Black woman who's always strategizing. It's important to show the humanity of Black women including our frailty when we experience extreme trauma and tragedy. It is almost unbelievable to think that a woman would look at her child's brutalize, mangled body and immediately start thinking strategy for the cause. I did not like that at all. If anything, they should have spent at least half a night focusing on her grief and remembrance of her child, not her immediate flip the switch to "the movement." All that said, I think it was still necessary and worthwhile to have this story told and I'm very glad to have been able to see it.

A lynching I have known of all my life but this narrative just brings a fresh perspective to a new generation. The horror experienced and the strength an older generation had to endure to just survive.