Why tell the story of Emmett Till now? This is about informing those who may not have known before, so that we don’t continue to perpetuate these cycles hurting young people, which is hurting mothers, which is hurting humanity. We are hurting each other, and we are not seeing each other for who we really are. Is there more responsibility playing real-life women as opposed to fictional ones? There’s so much responsibility in telling stories of people that are here and especially our ancestors, those that have passed on. Their history is our history. It is an honor to have the opportunity to tell their stories in the best way that I possibly can, and for me, that is erasing myself from the narrative and putting them forward. Did you do a lot of research for the role? It is literally learning as much as you possibly can about the human being, not who people perceive them to be, but who they are and presenting that in a way that is as truthful as possible. What was it like filming in Mississippi? Feeling the dirt that they felt under our feet, being in some of the buildings that they were in, feeling the tension in the environment, in the air that is still there…not much has changed since 1955. You can feel the gravity of that, which takes everything that we are doing and elevates it in a way that makes this so unbelievably important because it’s about education. What was a truth you learned about Mamie Till-Mobley? Her pain is rooted in the love for her son. That was the most important thing for me, and because of that, I actually felt a lot of love all the time because I felt supported by every single person I was working with. That just reaffirms how important it is to really make sure you have the right people around you and to be in this cast and be surrounded by people who were just as passionate about telling the story as every single one of us was. Mamie Till-Mobley experienced so much pain. Once you get there, do you have strategies for being able to get out that pain and darkness? I had an incredible cast and team that I was working with, and I actually brought one of my best friends to work with me, who made it really, really lovely. She moved to Mississippi with me, so going home every day was like going home to family. So, there was dinner on the table for me even if I already had dinner, and that was a blessing. It made it that much easier for me to actually just show up and do my job. Next, 40 Ways White Women Can Help Fight Racism and Do Anti-Racism Work
