Gordon Parks

Gordon Parks (1912–2006) was an American photographer, filmmaker, musician and author. Raised in poverty and segregation in Fort Scott, Kansas, he worked various jobs, including as a brothel pianist and railroad porter. After teaching himself photography, he received a Julius Rosenwald Fund fellowship in 1942 and worked for the Farm Security Administration. From 1948 to 1972, he was a staff photographer for Life magazine. His work often addressed social justice, race relations, the civil rights movement and Black American life. As a director, he made The Learning Tree (1969), based on his semi-autobiographical novel, and Shaft (1971). Parks also wrote memoirs, novels and poetry, composed music and received the National Medal of Arts.