Stanley Nelson
In Becoming Frederick Douglass, acclaimed director Stanley Nelson and co-director Nicole London bring to life the story of an American icon. Using Douglass's own powerful, profound speeches and writing, the story retraces his journey from a man born and raised in slavery to one of the most prominent elder statesmen and inspiring voices for freedom in American history. With additional context and insight provided by historians, scholars and Douglass's descendants, the filmmakers recount the brutality and trauma of his childhood while illuminating his strength of character, defiance against the bonds of slavery and the influences that guided his lifelong quest for freedom. The most celebrated Black man of his era, Douglass's legacy and achievements continue to resonate today. His life and work still inspires activists, educators and citizens in the fight for freedom, equality and a more just American society.
After Jackie celebrates the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s integration into Major League Baseball. Robinson opened the door for other African Americans to join the league and this documentary taps into key people and events in the aftermath.
A cheap, powerful drug emerges during a recession, igniting a moral panic fueled by racism. Explore the complex history of crack in the 1980s.
This powerful, nuanced portrait arrives just in time celebrate the bicentennial of American abolitionist and political activist Harriet Tubman. Parts of her story are well known; born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including family and friends, using the network of anti-slavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. But the film delves deeper, illuminating her spirit and strength through exploits as a union scout and spy during the Civil War, an activist for women's suffrage and a singular figure who defied categorization at every turn. The foremost chronicler of the Black experience working in nonfiction film today, Stanley Nelson, alongside co-director Nicole London, brings rich, deeply researched historical detail to the story of this remarkable woman.
The history of business and entrepreneurship lies at the heart of the American story, but often absent are the names and experiences of African Americans who, from the country’s earliest days, have embodied the qualities of innovation, risk-taking and determination to forge a path toward a better life – which is at the heart of the American entrepreneurial spirit.
A visionary, innovator, and originator who defied categorization and embodied the word cool—a foray into the life and career of musical and cultural icon Miles Davis.
Filmmaker Chico Colvard investigates the propagation of demeaning representations of African-Americans. From industrial China to the rural American south to contemporary Brooklyn, we observe the people and places that reproduce, consume and reclaim BLACK MEMORABILIA. This feature documentary takes us on a journey into the material culture of racialized artifacts and confronts us with the incendiary features of these objects. BLACK MEMORABILIA also moves beyond perverse attractions and absolute objections to collectibles and antiques that serve as reminders of America's troubled racial history. In the midst of roiling ethnic unrest in the US today, the film's confrontation of our feelings about these objects strikes at the heart of a pressing contemporary issue and opens a unique dialogue about the continuing legacy of racism in America.
This independently created film by Stanley Nelson was underwritten by Starbucks with the intent of educating its employees about the history of access to public spaces for African-Americans. The film explores the impact of bias within public accommodations as well as the possibilities for a better future.
In 2016, transgender teen Gavin Grimm sued his local school board after its members refused to let him use the bathroom of his choice. He was ready to take his case all the way to the Supreme Court—and then the election happened.
One week before Donald Trump was elected, 700 workers—many of whom were Trump supporters—walked out of the Momentive chemical plant in Waterford, NY, sparking a 105-day strike. In the wake of his win, the striking workers reflect on the election and Trump's advocacy for union-busting legislation.
See how alt-right icon Steve Bannon’s years as a documentary filmmaker catapulted him to Breitbart News and the Trump White House.
A haven for Black intellectuals, artists and revolutionaries—and path of promise toward the American dream—Black colleges and universities have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field. They have been unapologetically Black for 150 years. For the first time ever, their story is told.
The story of the Black Panthers is often told in a scatter of repackaged parts, often depicting tragic, mythic accounts of violence and criminal activity. Master documentarian Stanley Nelson goes straight to the source, weaving a treasure of rare archival footage with the voices of the people who were there: police, FBI informants, journalists, white supporters and detractors, and Black Panthers who remained loyal to the party and those who left it. An essential history, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, is a vibrant, human, living and breathing chronicle of this pivotal movement that birthed a new revolutionary culture in America.
In the summer of 1964, more than 700 students descended on violent, segregated Mississippi. Defying authorities, they registered voters, created freedom schools, and established the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Fifty years later, eyewitness accounts and never-before-seen archival material tell their story. Not all of them would make it through.
This is the story of more than four hundred Americans who participated in a bold and dangerous experiment designed to awaken the conscience of a complacent nation. These self-proclaimed, 'Freedom Riders' challenged the mores of a racially segregated society by performing a disarmingly simple act.
We Shall Remain is a five-part, 7.5 hour documentary series about the history of Native Americans spanning the 17th century to the 20th century. It was a collaborative effort with several different directors, writers and producers working on each episode, including directors Chris Eyre, Ric Burns and Stanley Nelson Jr. Actor Benjamin Bratt narrated the entire series. It is part of the American Experience series and premiered April 13, 2009.
Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.
A documentary examining the 1955 murder of a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago while visiting relatives in Mississippi, and the broad impact of his death, his funeral, and the subsequent trial and acquittal of his accused killers.
Marcus Garvey: Look for me in the Whirlwind uses a wealth of archival film, photographs and documents to uncover the story of this Jamaican immigrant, who between 1916 and 1921 built the largest black mass movement in world history. It explores Garvey’s dramatic successes and failures before his fall into obscurity. Among the film’s most powerful sequences are interviews with people who were part of the Garvey movement decades ago. These interviews communicate the appeal of Garvey’s revolutionary ideas to a generation of African Americans, and reveal how he invested hundreds and thousands of black men and women with a newfound sense of pride.
This director's cut of the William Greaves' documentary short film dramatizes the life and deeds of the noted abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
An intimate portrait of two inner-city barbershops that provide patrons with more than haircuts.
We Shall Remain is a five-part, 7.5-hour documentary series about the history of Native Americans spanning the 17th century to the 20th century.
Documentary about the first self-made American millionairess, Madam C.J. Walker.
