Stanley Nelson

The World's Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture.

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts. This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN

The epic story of the actors, writers, directors, and producers who fought for their place on the page, behind the camera and on the screen. From blackface to Black Panther, this series is a definitive chronicle of more than a century of the black experience in Hollywood and a powerful reexamination of a quintessentially American story – in brilliant color.

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.

In 1972, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan became the first Southern Black woman to join Congress, one of many firsts in her career as a trailblazing political leader. Looking at her life both in and out of the limelight, this insightful documentary explores how her voice still resonates today.

A cheap, powerful drug emerges during a recession, igniting a moral panic fueled by racism. Explore the complex history of crack in the 1980s.

Stanley Nelson's syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, from early roots to 1970s urban funk and beyond.

Against political resistance and industry skepticism, Luis Valdez pushes Chicano storytelling from the fields to the film screen with Zoot Suit and La Bamba, crafting iconic works that challenge, celebrate, and expand America’s story.

A comprehensive reminisce at each chapter of former NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s saga–the incredible rise, shocking fall and polarizing return.

Born underground, on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement and the Stonewall Riots, disco’s nascent popularity saw the spectacular takeover of the dancefloor, the airwaves and burgeoning fashion trends that reflected the joy and freedom inherent to the genre. Co-opted and exploited through references like John Travolta’s strut and shiny Swedish tracksuits, disco eventually reaches the mainstream, losing its original flair and purpose rooted in radical politics and social change.

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).

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.

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.

The true story of the neighborhood that inspired David Simon's fictional HBO television series "Tremé", from slave revolts and underground free black antebellum resistance through post-Katrina rebuilding, set to a fabulous soundtrack of New Orleans music through the ages.

Criticized, admired and feared: The Black Panther Party, founded in California in 1967, declared violent wars against racism and oppression. The two-part documentary looks behind the scenes of the legendary group, which emerged as a mouthpiece for African Americans during a time of social upheaval and soon attracted worldwide attention, but also the resentment of the government.

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.

A biographical, musical, illuminating journey into the work and vision of Sun Ra, exploring his jazz roots, endless innovations, and ceaseless artistic and social quests.

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.

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.