Parks, Gordon (1912-2006), was a photographer, author, composer, and filmmaker. In 1941, he received a fellowship for his photography, which enabled him to launch his career as the first African American photographer to work for major magazines. His pictures appeared in Life magazine through the 1970’s and have been praised as sensitive depictions of dignified black poverty.
Parks became the first black director for a major Hollywood studio when he directed an adaptation of his 1963 autobiographical novel The Learning Tree (1969) for Warner Bros. After the success of that film, Parks directed the hit action films Shaft (1971) and Shaft’s Big Score (1972). Parks also filmed documentaries for television. In addition, he composed classical works, including a piano concerto (1953) and the music and text for the ballet Martin (1990), based on the life of the African American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
In 1970, Parks cofounded Essence, a magazine aimed at African American women. He served as its editorial director until 1973.
Parks wrote four volumes of autobiography, A Choice of Weapons (1966), To Smile in Autumn (1979), Voices in the Mirror (1990), and Half Past Autumn: A Retrospective (1997). He also wrote the memoir A Hungry Heart (2005). Parks wrote poetry, historical novels, and a collection of photo essays in Born Black (1971). In 1972, Parks was awarded the Spingarn Medal for his achievements in film, literature, music, and photography. Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was born on Nov. 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kansas. He died on March 7, 2006.
