Glynn Turman talks ABC's 'Women of the Movement,' 'Cooley High,' more

Veteran actor Glynn Turman has played dozens of unforgettable roles over a distinguished career on TV ("The Wire''), the big screen (1975's now classic "Cooley High") and Broadway (the original cast of "A Raisin in the Sun" in 1959). He's about to add another one to the list, as Mose Wright, great-uncle of Emmett Till in the six-part ABC docudrama "Women of the Movement'' (premiering Thursday at 8 p.m. on ABC/7).

Newsday spoke recently with Turman, 74, about "Women" and much else:

You recently wrapped a feature film on civil rights leader Bayard Rustin — the first Netflix movie from the Obamas' production company, in fact?

Just wrapped, finally. We had a lot of hurdles because it's really challenging doing anything at this time. But [director] George [C. Wolfe], our fearless leader, was able to keep everything on track.

It appears to be a reunion of sorts — much of the cast appeared with you in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and even "Fargo" [Chris Rock]. A coincidence?

George put the band back together again! We got Michael Potts, who is always wonderful, and Colman Domingo [both 'Ma Rainey'] and Adrienne [Warren, who plays Mamie Till Mobley in 'Women.'] Of course the only one missing was Chadwick [Boseman, who died in 2020].

You play labor unionist A. Philip Randolph. You know much about him going in?

I wasn't aware of just how powerful a man he was — the first Black union leader, you know, who organized the sleeping car porters and he got Harry S. Truman to integrate the armed forces. Soft-spoken but very powerful.

"Rainey," "Rustin," even to an extent "Women of the Movement" tell part of the same story, right?

Telling the same story of where the Black man fits in — how he or she maneuvers in the framework of an institution. How do you grapple with the truth of it, from a humanistic point of view, so that everyone can see clearly?

Some of your recent roles have major Civil Rights themes. A pattern?

I'm aware of that but not that I seek them out — they kind of find me, as did 'Raisin in the Sun.' But a number of plays I did off-Broadway and off-off Broadway later [which also focused on Civil Rights and social justice themes] were also socially conscious. When my kids say, what did you do during the Civil Rights movement, I say I let my performances and art speak for me.

You would've been 8 when Emmett Till was murdered [on Aug. 28, 1955]. Any recollection?

We saw the pictures in Jet magazine. Our house was always flooded with Jet and Ebony and the household I grew up in was on top of most subjects regarding race relations. I was born in Harlem but grew up in the West Village so I was in a majority white situation [and] had my share of racism. My mother was particularly diligent in preparing me for that kind of world. She didn't sugarcoat anything. It was a cool neighborhood — very artsy and my mother was friends with James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry so it was quite a different kind of upbringing, [but] Emmett Till's story plays a large part. It stirred the hornet's nest of that time.

Tell me about Mose Wright.

I grew to know the courage, the loneliness of this man, and predicament [Till was taken from Wright's farmhouse in the middle of the night by Roy Bryant and John William "J. W." Milam, who would be tried for his murder]. How do you give up someone else's child whose life and well-being you swore to protect and defend? [But] during the trial, he would also become the first Black man to point out white assailants in a courtroom [in the south]. There were things we had in common, too. My granddaddy was a farmer [in Georgia] and I became a peach farmer later in life too. Mose and my grandfather were men of the land and with that comes a tie to the earth that makes you akin to that place. But to abandon that way of life? [Wright was forced to leave his farm and Mississippi after the trial]? That must have been devastating.

Gotta ask the obligatory "Cooley High" question. Why has it endured all these years?

'Cooley' celebrated life … When Preach [Turman's character] was asked, 'what do you want?' he said, 'I want to live forever.' For me that was the message of the movie. That resonates with everyone from those projects — or barrios or ghettos or whatever name you want to call the places where the underprivileged live: Nobody wants to die.

And of course, Aretha Franklin [Turman was married to her from 1978 to 1984]. What did she teach you about show business?

I loved her steadfastness in knowing who she was, in terms of negotiating. I learned it's OK to say no. Don't be afraid to hold your ground when you think you are worth something. She would just hang up (laughs).

What's next after "Rustin?"

Just finished a Netflix series ['Cabinet of Curiosities]' for Guillermo del Toro, with F. Murray Abraham — Murray is so much fun, such a great guy — and another with Omar Epps ['House'] called 'The Devil You Know.' I've still got stuff I want to say.