Stanley Nelson

Stanley Nelson

Directing

Born July 7, 1955 · New York City, New York, USA

28 films as director · Active 1987–2025

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…

Known for

The Daily Show

The Daily Show

1996

Hollywood Black

Hollywood Black

2024

A Place of Our Own

A Place of Our Own

2004

Directed(28)

We Want the Funk!

2025We Want the Funk!★ 6.0

Critical Condition: Health in Black America

2025Critical Condition: Health in Black America★ 1.0

San Juan Hill: Manhattan’s Lost Neighborhood

2024San Juan Hill: Manhattan’s Lost Neighborhood★ 1.0

Sound of the Police

2023Sound of the Police★ 4.0

Becoming Frederick Douglass

2022Becoming Frederick Douglass★ 4.7

Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom

2021Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom★ 6.0

Attica

2021Attica★ 6.8

Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre

2021Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre★ 6.6

Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy

2021Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy★ 6.8

Vick

2020Vick★ 5.6

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

2019Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool★ 7.1

BOSS: The Black Experience in Business

2019BOSS: The Black Experience in Business★ 3.5

The Story of Access

2018The Story of Access

Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities

2017Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities★ 8.1

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

2015The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution★ 7.0

Freedom Summer

2014Freedom Summer★ 7.2

Focus Forward: Short Films, Big Ideas

2012Focus Forward: Short Films, Big Ideas

Freedom Riders

2010Freedom Riders★ 7.5

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple

2006Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple★ 7.0

Beyond Brown: Pursuing the Promise

2004Beyond Brown: Pursuing the Promise

A Place of Our Own

2004A Place of Our Own★ 9.0

The Murder of Emmett Till

2003The Murder of Emmett Till★ 7.0

Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind

2001Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind★ 8.0

The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords

1999The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords★ 6.7

Two Dollars and A Dream: The Story of Madame C.J. Walker

1987Two Dollars and A Dream: The Story of Madame C.J. Walker

Acting(3)

2024Hollywood BlackSelf

2004A Place of Our OwnSelf - Narrator (voice)

1996The Daily ShowSelf

Stanley Nelson — Watchpile | Watchpile