Gordon Parks“I suffered evils, but without allowing them to rob me of the

freedom to expand.”—Gordon Parks

Presentation By: Laura Shield

Biography• Born November 30th, 1912• Faced segregation and poverty

consistently throughout his upbringing

• Left home after his mothers death at the age of 14

• Self-taught photographer since the age of 25

• Married and divorced 3 times and had 4 children

• Died on March 7th, 2006 at the age of 93

Photographer Career and Accomplishments

• Bought his first camera at the age of 25 and taught himself how to use it

• Won a photography fellowship with Farm Security Administration in 1941

• Continued to take photographs for Office of War Information and Standard Oil Photography

• Moved on to become a freelance photographer for Vogue

• In 1948, his photo essay won him the staff photographer position at LIFE magazine

•

Dr. Kenneth B. Clark conducting the Doll Test, Harlem, New York, 1947

Context of Photo

• Racism This photo shows a boy pointing to one of the 2 dolls. One doll has fair skin and the other has dark skin. The boy is pointing at the doll with fair skin and this can be interpreted to represent racism that has been ongoing within society for decades. This racism is now internalized, yet we have come along way from where we were a hundred years ago (slavery, segregation, etc.). This photo represents the segregation and racism amongst society at the time.

Bibliography APA CitationGordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks. (2014). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 12:54, Apr 15, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/gordon-parks-37379.

The Gordon Parks Foundation. (n.d). Biography. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/biography/

Poverty in Rio: Revisiting a Landmark LIFE Photo Essay From 1961 I LIFE I TIME.com (n.d.). LIFE. Retrieved April 15, 2014 From http://life.time.com/history/gordon-parks-classic-photo-essay-flavio/#1