[3] Among his notable films are Freedom Riders (2010),[4][5][6] 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),[7][8] The Murder of Emmett Till (2003), and The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords (1998).

[15][16] The film was named Best Production of the Decade by the Black Filmmakers Foundation, and won the CINE Golden Eagle Award.

[17] Nelson soon found a job at PBS, working as a television producer with Bill Moyers for the TV series Listening to America.

[9][19] Nelson has made several productions for the Smithsonian Institution, including a tribute to African-American artists, entitled Free Within Ourselves, and Climbing Jacob's Ladder.

[24] In 2007, he received an Emmy nomination for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking as a producer of Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple that aired on PBS series The American Experience.

[25] Nelson won two Emmy awards for the film in 2011: Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming, and Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking as one of the producers.

[3] He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a recipient of the NEH National Humanities Medal presented by President Obama in 2014.

[29] Nelson is Executive Director and co-founder of Firelight Media with his wife, writer and producer Marcia Smith,[30] a nonprofit that provides technical education and professional support to emerging documentarians.