The life and legacy of Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, will be the center of a new podcast series coming to ABC, The Root has exclusively learned.
Titled Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till-Mobley, the new series will be hosted by historian and ABC News contributor Leah Wright-Rigueur, and will detail “Till-Mobley’s early upbringing in the Chicago area as well as the pivotal moments in her life, including her defiant and consequential choice to hold an open-casket funeral for Emmett, which shocked the world and inspired many heroes of the civil rights movement.” It will also include little-known facts about the 1945 death of her husband, Louis Till, who was executed by the U.S. military in France during World War II.
The podcast will also feature insight from former First Lady Michelle Obama, who will take a look at the social and political environment in Chicago in the 1950s and her connection to the city; interviews with Emmett Till’s cousin, Rev. Wheeler Parker, who witnessed Emmett’s kidnapping; individuals who attended the trial of the men charged with Emmett’s murder; and historical and legal experts who will provide context to these events and Till-Mobley’s impact on American history.
“Mamie Till-Mobley is a national icon, but she is also a figure whose inner-most life was both fascinating and significant,” Wright-Rigueur said in a statement to The Root. “It’s something I’ve been teaching my students for years, and I’m thrilled that our Reclaimed audience will have the opportunity to see Mamie Till-Mobley in a different light—as a woman in her own right.”
This new series is a part of ABC Audio’s newly rebranded Reclaimed podcast feed, which launched in 2021 with the release of Soul of a Nation: Tulsa’s Buried Truth.
The first episode of Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till-Mobley debuts Wednesday, June 1, with new episodes posted weekly. It will be available to listen to for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, TuneIn, Audacy and the ABC News app.