For Real: The Matter of Black Lives

The Object

When Gordon Parks becomes the first Black photographer at LIFE magazine, in 1949, he’s determined to show the full measure of Black lives in America. Whether the magazine, and the rest of America, is ready or not. You can see "American Gothic," Parks’ photograph of Ella Watson that is featured in this episode, in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/100557/american-gothic-gordon-parks You can see a variety of other work by Parks, who began his career in Minnesota, here: https://collections.artsmia.org/search/artist:%22Gordon%20Parks%22