Rahsaan “New York” Thomas

Founder & Co-Director

Rahsaan is best known as “New York'' on the Pulitzer Prize finalist and Dupont Award-winning podcast Ear Hustle. Rahsaan appeared in Q-Ball and 26.2 to Life, after which he decided to start making his own documentaries. Rahsaan directed and produced the award winning documentary short Friendly Signs, and produced, What These Walls Won’t Hold, directed by Adamu Chan, which won the San Francisco International Film Festival—all while he was still in prison. Now on parole, Rahsaan is the Executive Director of Empowerment Avenue, an organization that works to develop the careers of incarcerated writers, artists, journalists, and filmmakers, pre-entry. Rahsaan is a 2024 Right of Return USA fellow and 2024 Emerson Collective Community of Champions fellow.