American Gordon.(Biography)

The youngest of 15 children, Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was born on November 30, 1912, in the small Kansas prairie town of Fort Scott. After the death of his mother, Parks was forced to move in with his sister and brother-in-law in St. Paul, Minnesota. When conflicts arose, Parks became homeless for a while. Despite these early struggles, Parks soon proved his resourcefulness, working as a waiter for the railroad and playing on a semiprofessional basketball team. Eventually, he found his true calling.

Parks' career in photography began in the late 1930s. After having his photographs displayed in Chicago, Parks received a fellowship in 1941 from the …