Stanley Nelson’s San Juan Hill Documentary is Telling a Lost Tale of History @TheIncarceratedNation

Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

Repost from @artnoirco
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FILM // San Juan Hill: Manhattan’s Lost Neighborhood, directed by Emmy-Award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson and narrated by Oscar-Award-winning actress Ariana DeBose (@arianadebose), is now available to stream for free on the Lincoln Center’s (@lincolncenter) YouTube channel. Through never-before-accessed historical footage, expert commentary, and first-person storytelling with former residents, this documentary traces the history of San Juan Hill, the area where Lincoln Center now stands, and celebrates the cultural and artistic legacy of those who called it home.

Predating the golden age of the Harlem Renaissance, musical phenomena like Bebop and the Charleston bloomed in this cultural hotspot; San Juan Hill’s clubs and theaters nurtured creative geniuses like James P. Johnson, Josephine Baker, Rogelio “Ram” Ramirez, and Thelonious Monk; and businesses and community centers bustled throughout the neighborhood. Home to a largely working-class community, San Juan Hill was redlined in the 1930s and targeted by “urban renewal” in the 1940s and 1950s, when thousands of residents were displaced to make way for public housing, Lincoln Center, Fordham University, and additional developments. Their stories of home, belonging, and resilience have gone untold for far too long, until now.

Stanley Nelson’s San Juan Hill Documentary is Telling a Lost Tale of History

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$GOINGHOME - Five Mualimmak- Yvette Gonzalez Going Home: Five Mualimmak-Yvette Gonzales is a documentary that chronicles the challenges of community reentry and the grassroots fight against solitary confinement in New York. ## The Documentary: Going Home * The Premise: The film focuses on the reality that people enduring solitary confinement are often released directly into society without any mental health counseling or transitional support. * The Story: It follows activists Five Mualimm-ak and Yvette Gonzales over the first two years of their community reintegration beginning in 2013. It captures their raw personal adjustments alongside their rising public activism. * The Production: The project was directed and produced by filmmakers Matthew Claiborne and JengTyng Hong. It received backing from the Patsy Pulitzer Preston Research Fund and the New York Television Academy of Arts and Sciences. * The Legacy: The early efforts captured in the film helped lay the groundwork for major legislative and systemic shifts regarding Rikers Island and solitary confinement policies in New York. Mr. Five Mualimm-ak (born Five Omar Mualimm-ak) is a prominent American human rights activist, artist, author, and criminal justice reform advocate. * The Incarceration: Born in Ethiopia, he later moved to the U.S. and spent nearly 12 years in the New York State prison system on charges that were eventually overturned. * The Solitary Experience: Out of his 12 years inside, he spent over five years in solitary confinement. He was frequently penalized with extreme isolation for minor infractions, such as possessing too many pencils for his artwork or owning too many postage stamps. * Mental Health & Advocacy: Having survived the profound trauma and psychological toll of isolation, he became a central voice detailing the harmful effects of long-term confinement. He contributed his lived experiences to the book Hell Is a Very Small Place, a collection of essays detailing life in solitary. * The Incarceration Nation Corporation (INC): Following his release in 2012, he founded [Incarcerated Nation Corporation](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrfivemualimmak). The organization is led by formerly incarcerated individuals to provide direct peer-to-peer reentry support, trauma care, and policy advocacy. * Youth Advocacy: He also created the Youth Anti-Prison Project (YAPP) in the Bronx. The project bridges the gap for young adults serving long community supervision sentences by providing transitional housing, education scholarships, and mentorship. If you are interested, I can provide more information on the HALT Solitary Confinement Act that activists in New York successfully passed, or share details on how his organization supports people during reentry. www.incarceratednationnetwork.com www.naabpp.prg for more info About Five and his work.$

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