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March 4, 2026
‘The camera is my weapon of choice’: Gordon Parks’ era-defining shots of segregation
The visionary photographer captured the ugliness of racism in America, as well as the strength and dignity of those who opposed it – from cleaners in the corridors of power to Martin Luther King Jr proclaiming his dream
TL;DR
- Gordon Parks, Life magazine's first Black staff photographer, was dispatched to Alabama in 1956 to document racial segregation.
- A new exhibition at London's Alison Jacques gallery showcases Parks' work from 1942-1967, curated by civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson.
- Stevenson views the exhibit as timely and urgent, drawing parallels between Parks' era and contemporary issues of historical revisionism and censorship.
- Parks' photographs of the Thornton family in Mobile, Alabama, used color to depict their dignity amidst 'separate but equal' segregation.
- The exhibition includes images from Parks' documentation of poverty in Harlem, his work with Malcolm X, jail photography, and the 1963 March on Washington.
- Parks' iconic image 'American Gothic,' a portrait of Ella Watson, is featured, symbolizing themes of trial, tribulation, triumph, and dignity.
- Parks was also the first Black director of a major Hollywood production and directed the film 'Shaft.'
- Stevenson believes Parks would emphasize the ongoing nature of racial injustice and the struggle for change.
- Parks considered his camera his 'weapon of choice' against social injustice, a maxim relevant today with citizen-recorded videos of violence.
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