-
Gordon Parks was born with out a heart beat
-
-
learned to play the piano ( self-taught)
-
Parks was drawn to photography as a young man when he saw images of migrant workers published in a magazine.
-
He dropped out of high school after his mother died. His jobs included playing piano in a brothel before he became interested in photography while working as a train porter
-
Spent 20 years (1948-1968) as a photographer and reporter for Life Magazine
-
In the 1960's he began to write memoirs, novels, poems and screenplays, which led him to directing films
-
First African American to write, produce and direct a film for a major studio (Warner Brothers) - The Learning Tree (1969), which was based on his semi-autobiographical novel of the same name.
-
In 1970 he helped found Essence magazine and was its editorial director from 1970 to 1973.
-
Best known for his gritty photo essays on the grinding effects of poverty in the United States and abroad and on the spirit of the civil rights movement.
-
Mr. Parks wrote in his memoir, "To Smile in Autumn"
-
He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1988 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.
-
worked with as a co-produced by Denzel Washington: Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks (2000) (TV).
-
The death of Gordon Park because of cancer at the age of 93
-
Has three schools named after him at lifetime: The Gordon Parks Elementary School in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, Gordon Parks Academy in East Orange, New Jersey, USA, and Gordon Parks High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Plan projects on a visual timeline
Map milestones, phases, deadlines, and key events in one place so the sequence is easier to see and share. Timetoast is a timeline maker for work, school, research, and stories.