By: Andrew Zhang

Late last month, the historically Black college, Howard University,

announced that it would be turning its recently acquired collection of 252 photos

taken by Gordon Parks into 15 sets meant for educational use.

Photographer Gordon Parks had a rough upbringing. Parks was born in

1912 in Kansas. He had no formal training whatsoever and instead gained all of his

skills through self-teaching. He later claimed that he could have turned to using

guns and knives instead of using the camera.

Throughout his career, Parks had a profound impact on the African

American community. “Mr. Parks was a trailblazer whose documentation of the

lived experiences of African Americans, especially during the civil rights period,

inspired empathy, encouraged cultural and political criticism, and sparked activism

among those who viewed his work. Having a collection of his timeless

photographs in the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center will allow Howard

University faculty, students, and visiting scholars to draw on his work and build

upon his legacy of truth telling and representation through the arts.” wrote Dr.

Wayne A. I. Frederick, president of Howard University, in a press release.

He didn’t only focus on social injustice, though. During the late 1940’s and

early 1950’s, Parks took photos of French life and fashion, as well as the effect of

Spanish culture on American fashion.

Along with dipping his toes into the fashion industry, he also broke into the

film industry. Here, he directed two films: the 1971 film Shaft, known to be the

first Black action film, and The Learning Tree, an adaptation of his own

autobiography.

Now, his many photos have been acquired by Howard University and given

a second life as educational material. “You could have a film studies class, a race

class, a fashion class, and a U.S. history class all looking at the same pictures and

understanding different components of why these pictures are so important,” said

Peter Kunhardt Jr., executive director of The Gordon Parks Foundation.

But how did Gordan Parks and Howard University first meet? To answer that

question, we have to go back to 1942. It was during this year where he first started

taking photos of African American life on Howard University’s campus.

Some say that the pen is mightier than the sword. But for Gordan Parks, the

camera would’ve trumped both. “I pointed my camera at people mostly who

needed someone to say something for them. They couldn’t speak for themselves,”

he said in an interview with Charlie Rose in 2000.

Link to Article: https://www.mtpr.org/arts-life/2022-06-10/gordon-parks-photographymasterfully-captured-the-range-of-black-life-in-america