• light value scale
  • dark value scale
  • midtone value scale

There have been many famous African American that used photography to show the social issues in a city or country. These photographs that use images to tell a news story is called photojournalism One of the most well known African American that used photojournalism was Gordon Parks.

Gordon parks became prominent in the US photojournalism world in the 1940s through 1970s. The social issues Gordon parks focused on was civil rights , poverty and African Americans. He was best remembered for his iconic photos on poor African Americans in urban areas. Also Gordon parks was the first African American to produce and direct a major film that focuses on the struggling experience of black Americans. One of the films Gordon parks directed was shaft(1971 film) which was marked as one of the first African American directed film. Gordon documented Chicago’s south side black ghetto it showed the living conditions that African American were dealing with in some big American cities. In 1941 an exhibition of those photography won him an award with the FSA( Farm security administration), He also joined the FSA in 1942

Gordon parks created his best work called “known photographs, American Gothic, Washington, D.C.” it was named after iconic grant wood. Parks painting showed a black woman Ella Watson who worked on the cleaning crew of the FSA before building . She was standing stiffly in front of the American flag hanging on the wall a broom in one hand and a mop in the back ground. Gordon Parks was inspired to create the image after encountering racism repeatedly in restaurants and shops in the segregated capital city. Parks keep working with Watson, after Stryker said the photo was an indictment of America and that it could get the photographers fired. This lead to a series of photographs of her daily life. These series of photos shows the everyday life of struggling African Americans.

Gordon parks will be forever known as the photojournalist that showed the life of those who where in poverty in America. His photographs showed a not so glamorous life style of a struggling American citizen. His photographs is suppose to show us there are somethings that need to change in order to improve the relationship of American citizens.