Think about this. I’m sitting in my backyard one Sunday afternoon. For some reason, I had the telephone with me. It rings. “This is Gordon Parks. When are you coming?” I could hardly take a breath, certainly not utter a word for a second or two. I had written him, asking to interview him after reading his autobiographies. “Oh, Mr. Parks. So good hear from you. Let me check our schedule.” Two weeks later, my husband and I spent our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary with Gordon in his apartment in New York City, hearing incredible stories about his struggles and his successes. It was the beginning of visiting him several times, always a thrill and a privilege to be in his presence.
Gordon Parks
After the No Excuses book was published, I kept writing about Gordon’s story because I think it fits today as well as it did when he lived it. We don’t have the Great Depression now, but we do have homelessness and joblessness like he faced. With all Gordon’s problems—racism and prejudice, beatings and accusations, belittling and rejections—he could have chosen to be angry, resentful and vengeful, much like the civil rights activists Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X he had written about in his Life magazine features. He could have given up, like the DaSilvas in Brazil or the Fontenelles in Harlem, families he profiled for Life. Instead, he ignored limits others wanted to put on him and became successful at whatever he tried, including semi-pro basketball and tennis. He took the high road every time and followed his mother’s words: “If a white boy can do it, you can too.”
This is how I started: After reading about Gordon’s gift of photographs and poems to Fort Scott’s new health center in 2003 and his long list of accomplishments, I wanted to know about this 91-year-old Kansan. Why didn’t every boy and girl didn’t know his name, and how had he been able to forgive Fort Scott for the way it treated him? I read his three books and visited folks in Fort Scott who knew him. I learned about his ragged, poverty-ridden childhood, his becoming the first black photographer for Life magazine, a best-selling writer of more than twenty books, maker of ten films, and a music composer.
I sent a letter. “May I interview you by phone or in person in your home in New York City?” I asked him. Three days later, he called. “When are you coming?”
What a thrill it was to meet him. So friendly and welcoming. In his comfortably cluttered apartment, I learned how he survived threats, broke through obstacles, and still clung to his Kansas ways of trust and friendliness. He appreciated honors and awards—including more than fifty honorary doctorates from colleges and universities around the world—that he received, but he didn’t need them to believe he had lived a full life. Becoming well-known was not one of his goals. He wanted others to learn from his courage.
My free-verse biography, Gordon Parks: Grit and Grace, for middle-grade readers tells his life from being born dead to living fully for 93 years.
Web sites about Gordon Parks:
Gordon wanted this group to remember and make his work available to the public. Educating others about his pioneering spirit is its highest priority.
Fort Scott Kansas Community College in Gordon’s hometown sponsors an annual Celebration of Culture and Diversity the first week of October. Gordon attended the first celebration in 2003.
Books about Gordon Parks:
Eyes with Winged Thoughts
by Gordon Parks; Simon & Schuster, 2005
This is Gordon’s last book of poetry, published the month of his ninety-third birthday.
Hungry Heart
by Gordon Parks; Simon & Schuster, 2005
The last of four autobiographical books by Gordon, this is a heartfelt account of how he saw his life unfold.
Voices in the Mirror
by Gordon Parks; Doubleday, 1990
Gordon gives a powerful personal account of his life to age 78.
Choice of Weapons
by Gordon Parks; Harper & Row, 1965
His first autobiographical work, Gordon tells about his choice of a camera as a weapon to fight against a world of pain and anger.
DVD about Gordon Parks:
Half Past Autumn:
The Life and Works of Gordon Parks
Home Box Office, 2006
Half Past Autumn, a retrospective exhibit of Gordon’s works, traveled major museums throughout the U.S. from 1998 through 2005. This DVD explains the exhibit along with interviews with Gordon, his family and friends.
