Lifting up Parks’ work, legacy

How lucky the 21st century is that Gordon Parks and his camera were eyewitness to so much of the civil rights era, capturing its ugliness but also its undeniable hope. And how fitting that Wichita continues to embrace and celebrate this gifted Fort Scott native, whose powerful photographs are on view at three local museums and the subject of a free symposium Friday and Saturday.

A creative and free spirit who was Life magazine’s first African-American photographer, Parks went on to be a filmmaker, author and more. If his photographs continue to gain the most notice and praise a decade after his death, no wonder. They depict not just history but humanity. They are felt as much as seen. His work is sure to inform coming generations, holding them accountable for the future by reminding them of the past.

Including more than 200 photographs by Parks, the exhibitions are “Back to Fort Scott” at the Wichita Art Museum, with the companion exhibit “Freedom Now! Forgotten Photographs of the Civil Rights Struggle” (both through May 8); the Ulrich Museum of Art’s “Visual Justice: The Gordon Parks Photography Collection at Wichita State University,” highlighting WSU’s collection of Parks’ photographs and stature as a prime site for Parks scholarship (through April 10); and “The Power of the Image: Documentary Photographs by Gordon Parks” at the Kansas African American Museum, 601 N. Water St. (through April 23). In addition, the “Freedom to Expand” Community Symposium will offer presentations from art historians, scholars and artists Friday at WSU’s Ulrich Museum and Saturday at the Wichita Art Museum.

Praise is due the Wichita Art Museum, WSU’s Ulrich Museum and the Kansas African American Museum for lifting up Parks’ work and legacy for all in the community to experience and enjoy.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Lifting up Parks’ work, legacy."