Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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Photographer, Director, and Author Gordon Parks Dies
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1145A89:3919ACA Gordon Parks began
his career documenting black America as a photographer and went on to
become a successful Hollywood film director





Photographer Gordon Parks pauses during the opening of an exhibit of
his works "Half Past Autumn" (File photo)Gordon Parks, who began his
career documenting black America as a photographer and went on to
become a successful Hollywood film director, has died at age 93.

Parks first made his name covering everything from fashion to politics
to sports as a photojournalist at "Life" magazine, from 1948 to 1968.
However, he was best known in those years for gritty photo essays
documenting the Civil Rights Movement and the effects of poverty on
the lives of African-Americans.

He turned to film-making in the 1960s. His first motion picture, "The
Learning Tree," was based on an autobiographical novel about growing
up in (the midwestern state of) Kansas. It was one of the first films
put on the U.S. National Film Registry in 1989.

Two years after "The Learning Tree," Parks directed "Shaft," a hit
movie about a black detective that spawned a series of black-oriented
films as well as a hit song and a 2000 remake.

Over the years, Parks also wrote volumes of poetry, fiction, memoirs,
and non-fiction. He also composed a ballet based on the life of Martin
Luther King, Jr.


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