Gordon Parks

Biography

Gordon Parks was a trailblazing American photographer, composer, author, poet, and filmmaker who became prominent in U.S. documentary photojournalism in the 1940s through the 1970s, particularly focusing on civil rights, poverty, and African Americans. His iconic photos of poor Americans during the 1940s and photographic essays for Life magazine cemented his legacy. Parks also directed films such as Shaft, a landmark achievement for black American filmmakers within the Hollywood system.