Stanley Nelson Jr. came of age as a filmmaker in the 1970s as Hollywood was making 'blacksploitation' films like 'Shaft.'
But as the son of a librarian and a dentist, fictional stories of the ghetto didn't resonate with Nelson - so instead he became a documentary-maker.
More than three decades after his first film appeared on PBS, he looks back on a career that includes documentaries about the Black Panthers, Freedom Riders, Miles Davis, and the murder of civil rights leader Emmet Till.
On this special edition of Global Journalist, the winner of a MacArthur "genius" award and a National Medal in the Humanities sits for an extended interview with guest host Stacey Woelfel.
Producer: Laura Miserez
