Investigative Documentary “Exposing Parchman” Earns Emmy Nomination For Outstanding Writing: Documentary at 45th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards
Roc Nation, Good Caper Content & Red Summer TV Produced the Documentary That Aired on A&E Networks
NEW YORK, July 29, 2024 / — The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced that A&E Networks documentary “Exposing Parchman” – which was produced by Roc Nation, Good Caper Content & Red Summer TV – earned a nomination for the Outstanding Writing: Documentary category at The 45th Annual News & Documentary Emmy® Awards.
The News & Documentary Emmy® Awards will take place on September 26 at 7:30 pm ET at the Palladium Times Square in New York City. In the Outstanding Writing: Documentary category, “Exposing Parchman” will be going up against the below nominees:
HBO | Max: Great Photo, Lovely Life: Facing a Family’s Secrets
National Geographic: Nazis at Nuremberg: The Lost Testimony
Frontline PBS: Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza
Apple TV+: The Pigeon Tunnel
The “Exposing Parchman” documentary unpacked the heinous history of Mississippi’s correctional system, analyzed the inhumane living conditions at Parchman Prison and highlighted Team ROC’s (Roc Nation’s social justice and philanthropic arm) work with multiplatinum musician Yo Gotti and multiple attorneys to protect the incarcerated population and eradicate the deadly conditions.
The documentary, which was directed by Rahman Ali Bugg, included commentary from a wide range of individuals, including Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, Yo Gotti, families with loved ones suffering in the decaying prison and more. Additionally, it featured a never-before-seen look at the inside of the Parchman prison facility.
The barbaric living conditions at Parchman originally came to the national forefront in December 2019, when internal riots surfaced and resulted in several deaths. Visuals of the environment soon emerged, leading to the discovery that the incarcerated population lacked access to clean water, adequate food, electricity, heat, healthcare and other basic human resources.
It ultimately prompted JAY-Z, Yo Gotti and Team ROC to procure legal representation on behalf of 200+ incarcerated men against the Mississippi Department of Corrections. They went on to file multiple lawsuits that prompted the U.S. Justice Department to launch an investigation and found that the Mississippi facility violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
EXPOSING PARCHMAN APPEARANCES
Formerly Incarcerated
John Knight
Travontae Riley
Michael Sykes
Families
Cheryl Henderson and Family (Mother of Chadarion Henderson)
Sandra and Claudia Mills (Sister and Mother of AD Buddy Mills)
Lenatha Lang (Mother of Darren Lang)
Janice Sherman (Great Aunt of Joshua Norman)
Sallye House & Shatoya House-Eppen ( Mother & Sister of Achello House)
Austin Ratliff (Son of AD “Buddy” Mills Jr. )
The Lawyers
Marcy Croft
Jordan W. Siev
Jessica L. Rice
Carson Thurman
Gerry Bufkin
The Experts
Bennie Thompson – Congressman
Marc Stern – Physician
Daniel Sullivan – Senior Investigator
Eldon Vail – Prison Investigator and Former Prison Warden
Anthony Monzingo – Judge
Advocates
Rukia Lumumba – People’s Advocacy Institute
Tamika Mallory – Until Freedom
Other Voices
Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter
Mario “Yo Gotti” Mims
Desiree Perez – Roc Nation
Dania Diaz – Roc Nation
Jerry Mitchell – Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting
Rep. Robert Johnson – (D) MS House Democratic Minority Leader
Ralph Eubanks – Author “A Place Like Mississippi”
Justin L. Brooks – Childhood friend of Joshua Norman
Jelani Cobb – Dean. Columbia School of Journalism
David Oshinsky – Author “Worse Than Slavery”
Danyelle Holmes – Co-Chair, MS Prison Reform Coalition
Gregory “Shotti” Morgan – Photographer
