SHREVEPORT – What happened to Mamie Till-Mobley after the murder of her son Emmett Till, a monumental event that helped spark the Civil Rights Movement?
It’s a question many ask, and a question that the play “Mamie’s Angels” answers in resounding fashion.
“(Mobley) was on the verge of a breakdown, but she enrolled in the Chicago Teachers College and started teaching,” said the play’s director Vincent Williams, a gifted drama teacher for Caddo Parish. “She formed a theatre group that became known as the Emmett Till Players, and they went around and recited speeches by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and sung the hymns and songs of that era.”
The Emmett Till Players started in 1973 and traveled across the country for the next 20 years.
Williams will incorporate Caddo Parish students in the recitation of King’s speeches and in the singing of popular hymns and songs. His group “Extensions of Excellence Performing Arts” will serve as the backbone of the play.
The play will premiere Thursday at LSUS (10 a.m.) designed for middle and high school students before showing at the East Bank Theatre on Friday and Saturday.
Two of the real-life Emmett Till Players will be in attendance as Dr. Odel Sterling III and Natalia Moore will make the trip from Chicago.
Sterling III is a preacher at 1st Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church of Chicago while Moore is an attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office who is running for a judgeship.
A third notable attendee is Alma Parker Malone, cousin of Till who was raised in Mississippi and now lives in Haynesville.
Till-Mobley co-wrote the play with members of the Emmett Till Players, Ollie Gordon, Airicka Gordon-Taylor and David Barr.
For Dr. Kenna Franklin, the associate vice chancellor for community engagement at LSUS, the play will provide a living history experience for Caddo Parish middle and high school students.
“Mamie Till-Mobley didn’t just show up to be an influence so people could know her name,” Franklin said. “She showed up to be a positive impact.
“The children she worked with, they made a difference because she showed up. It’s a message for teachers and students not just to be a social influencer in these times but to be about positive social impact. Make it true that because you were here, somebody else’s life is better off.”
Thursday’s program will feature performances by Grambling’s Orchesis Dance Company and by the North Louisiana Brass Band led by former Grambling band director Dr. Larry Pinel.
The program concludes with lunch and a deeper dive into Mamie Till-Mobley and how she resonates today.
