reviewed

Goodreads Review:
His white teacher tells her all-black class, You’ll all wind up porters and waiters. What did she know? Gordon Parks is most famous for being the first black director in Hollywood. But before he made movies and wrote books, he was a poor African American looking for work. When he bought a camera, his life changed forever. He taught himself how to take pictures and before long, people noticed. His success as a fashion photographer landed him a job working for the government. In Washington DC, Gordon went looking for a subject, but what he found was segregation. He and others were treated differently because of the color of their skin. Gordon wanted to take a stand against the racism he observed. With his camera in hand, he found a way. Told through lyrical verse and atmospheric art, this is the story of how, with a single photograph, a self-taught artist got America to take notice.

I really liked this book. It was about a man who was told by a white teacher that he was never going to be anything special, just a waiter or a porter. He went on to be a famous photographer who captured pictures of injustice between white and black living spaces and working conditions. I think this would be a good book for older primary students because I don't think younger kids would be able to understand injustice and racial issues very well.

Concise text and engaging illustrations show how Gordon Parks, the first African American director in Hollywood, used artistic talent and determination to stand up for a better America. An About Gordon Parks Page, Author’s Note.

Along with its Isaac Hayes soundtrack, Shaft is one of my favorite movies from the 70s. Being as big of a fan as I am of the film, I only knew of Gordon Parks as a director. You can image my surprise when I came across this book at work and saw how he was a famous American photographer before going into cinema. While reading this book, I was greeted to an inspirational story of how he went from being poor and having people doubt him to using photography to highlight harsh realities. Admittedly, I would have loved it to give more than a passing reference to Shaft since that movie helped usher in the genre of blaxploitation that changed how black people have been portrayed in film ever since. Still, I enjoyed reading this book and felt inspired to search out more of Parks’ photographic works. ( )