Tribute to the Iconic Photographer/Artist/Writer Gordon Parks

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Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks (November 30, 1912 – March 7, 2006) was an American photographer, musician, writer and film director, who became prominent in U.S. documentary photojournalism in the 1940s through 1970s—particularly in issues of civil rights, poverty and African-Americans—and in glamour photography.[2]

As the first famous pioneer among black filmmakers, he was the first African American to produce and direct major motion pictures—developing films relating the experience of slaves and struggling black Americans, and creating the "blaxploitation" genre. He is best remembered for his iconic photos of poor Americans during the 1940s (taken for a federal government project), for his photographic essays for Life magazine, and as the director of the 1971 film Shaft. Parks also was an author, poet and composer.
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Huge fan of Mr. Parks -- he was Black excellence -- and I will be posting some of my favorite pieces in this thread.

Please feel free to add and contribute to honoring Mr. Parks!

 

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One of my favorite collections is "Segregation Story" -- here are a few from the collection.

Untitled, Mobile, Alabama, 1956
Collection: Segregation Story

Outside Looking In, Mobile, Alabama, 1956

Untitled, Shady Grove, Alabama, 1956

Untitled, Alabama, 1956

 

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Untitled, Shady Grove, Alabama, 1956

Mr. and Mrs. Albert Thornton, Mobile, Alabama, 1956

Untitled, Shady Grove, Alabama, 1956

Mother and Children, Mobile, Alabama, 1956

At Segregated Drinking Fountain, Mobile, Alabama, 1956

Department Store, Mobile, Alabama, 1956

 

[Igloo Stix]

One of my personal heroes

 

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Store Front, Mobile, Alabama, 1956

Untitled, Shady Grove, Alabama, 1956

Airline Terminal, Atlanta, Georgia, 1956

Untitled, Shady Grove, Alabama, 1956

 

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American Gothic, Washington, D.C., 1942



With the help of a Rosenwald Fellowship, Gordon Parks received an apprenticeship with the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in 1942. Under the direction of Roy Stryker, head of the photographic division of the FSA and Parks' mentor, Parks traveled on assignment to Washington, D.C.; New England; and New York City. In 1943 the FSA was abolished and absorbed into the Office of War Information (OWI) as was Parks' photojournalist position. There Parks was tasked with documenting the training of the 332nd Fighter Pilot Group, otherwise known as the Tuskegee Airmen, who were the first African-American military aviators in the U.S. Armed Forces.

 

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Neighborhood Children, Washington, D.C., 1942 (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

 

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Football, Bethune-Cookman College, Daytona Beach, Florida, 1943. (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Pilots Gambling in Ready Room, Selfridge Field, Michigan, 1943

 

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Home Economic Students Learning to Make Good Bread, Bethune-Cookman College, Daytona Beach, Florida, 1943. (Courtesy of Library of Congress)

Joseph's New Tomb, Washington, D.C., 1942

Negro Woman in Her Bedroom, Washington, D.C., 1942

 

[Black Haven]

Beautiful photos.

 

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Black Muslims Rally, Harlem, New York, 1963

Black Muslim Women, Chicago, Illinois, 1963

Untitled, Chicago, Illinois, 1963

Untitled, Chicago, Illinois, 1963

 

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Harlem Rally, Harlem, New York, 1963

Malcolm X Leads Muslims in Prayer, Chicago, Illinois, 1963

Ethel Sharrieff, Chicago, Illinois, 1963

 

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Daily Prayer, Brooklyn, New York, 1963

Newsman Being Frisked at Muslim Rally in Chicago, Illinois, 1963

Malcolm X Holding Up Black Muslim Newspaper, Chicago, Illinois, 1963

Malcolm X Gives Speech at Rally, Harlem, New York, 1963

 

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Say It Loud -- Civil Rights Collection

Untitled, Watts, California, 1967

Untitled, New York, 1963

Untitled, Washington, D.C., 1963

 

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Black Panther Headquarters, San Francisco, California, 1970