About
Stanley Earl Nelson Jr. (born June 7, 1951) is an American documentary filmmaker and a MacArthur Fellow known as a director, writer and producer of documentaries examining African-American history and experiences. He is a recipient of the 2013 National Humanities Medal from President Obama. He has won three Primetime Emmy Awards. Among his notable films are Freedom Riders (2010), Wounded Knee (2009), Jonestown: The Life & Death of People's Temple (2006), Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice (2005), A Place of Our Own (2004), The Murder of Emmett Till (2003), and The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords (1998).
Filmography
American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez2026 · Executive Producer
Lani B. Supreme: Legacy2025 · Executive Producer
Becoming Thurgood: America's Social Architect2025 · Executive Producer
True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power2025 · Executive Producer
Sun Ra: Do the Impossible2025 · Executive Producer
The Inquisitor2025 · Executive Producer
Free for All: The Public Library2025 · Executive Producer
Critical Condition: Health in Black America2025 · Director
We Want the Funk!2025 · Director
San Juan Hill: Manhattan’s Lost Neighborhood2024 · Director
Sister Úna Lived a Good Death2024 · Executive Producer
Disco's Revenge2024 · Executive Producer
Bulls and Saints2023 · Executive Producer
Sound of the Police2023 · Director, Producer
Birthing a Nation: The Resistance of Mary Gaffney2023 · Executive Producer
Jonathan Thunder: Good Mythology2023 · Executive Producer
Sydney G. James: How We See Us2023 · Executive Producer
Becoming Frederick Douglass2022 · Director, Producer, Executive Producer
After Jackie2022 · Producer
Hazing2022 · Executive Producer



















