Danielle Deadwyler
The image of emmett Till’s mutilated corpse, murdered by white supremcists in 1955, changed the course of the Civil Rights movement. That change came because of Mamie Till, Emmett’s mother, who, despite her personal tragedy, knew what it could do for others. “She is the progenitor of a civil rights legacy that allowed for so many other acts of activism to occur,” says Danielle Deadwyler, who plays Mamie in Till (in theaters, October 14). The role was “the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” says Deadwyler. She and director Chinonye Chukwu “understood the weight of the work is beyond just making a piece of cinema, it’s beyond just making a piece of art, it’s a conversation with the world.” While “Emmett walked into a cesspool of racial division,” it was the “glorious bravery” of Mamie “to go into that fire and to come out of it, and then to go back into her own community and to educate .... We are forever indebted to her because of that.” Ultimately, Deadwyler hopes people leave Till recognizing “how courageous and bold you can be in the darkest of times.”
“His story is her story. Her story is his story.”
How did this part come to you?
I didn’t want to do it, but it’s less about not wanting to do it and more about the fear of what it will do to you. I knew just how significant this historical moment is in our American history, let alone Black American history and global history. I took my time with it, ingesting what it would mean.
What do you think people will learn about Mamie Till?
His story is her story. Her story is his story. It was a daunting task for her. It was the waterfall movement of what would come. What arose as a result of her actions, as a result of her incessantly sharing her story. It changed America.
Her awareness of what his murder meant is so empowering.
She’s just a flow of transcendence. She had the wherewithal to recognize that everyone’s child is her child. So if my son is everyone’s son, and everyone’s child is my child, therefore, I have to advocate for everyone with regard to what is happening to me.
How will the discovery of an unserved arrest warrant for Emmett’s accuser impact how people view this story?
It’s not a surprise, right? We know what white terrorism does. You have to know these stories in order to combat what kind of holes they’re trying to put over the next generations’ eyes.