Will Smith And Jay Z Team Up To Tell Women’s Civil Rights Stories
Two of the biggest Black names in Hollywood are teaming up to bring our stories to the silver screen in a thoughtful way. Will Smith and Jay-Z are joining forces on an upcoming series detailing the lives of women who were actively involved in the Civil Rights movement.
The ABC series, tentatively titled Women Of The Movement will be produced by Jay-Z and longtime friend/business partner Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith under Roc Nation. Smith and James Lassiter will co-produce the series through Overbrook Entertainment, Billboard reports.
Roc Nation, Overbrook, and Kapital pitched the series to HBO five years ago with a different writer. The project was shelved by HBO for years and finally found a home at last with the Disney owned company.
The president of ABC Entertainment loved the idea of the project and jumped at the idea of bringing the work of female civil rights activists to life.
The first episode of the project will follow the life of Mamie Till, Emmett Till’s mother, who became a figurehead for the civil rights movement after her son’s brutal murder in 1955. Mamie Till’s episode will be the first of an eight-part series, loosely based on Devery S. Anderson’s book Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement.
Mamie made the bold decision to have an open casket funeral for her deceased son, the imagery of which horrified the nation and inspired action. Rosa Parks once said the image of Till’s mutilated body drove her to defiantly sit down on the bus during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
This isn’t the first time Jay and Will have collaborated on a project. The two worked together to bring Annie, starring Jamie Foxx and Quevenzhane Wallis to the big screen a few years back.
PHOTO: AP
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