Humanities Kansas: Learning from Gordon Parks with Ann Dean

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Age Group:

Adults
  • Registration is required for this event.
  • Registration will open on January 28, 2026 @ 9:00am.

Program Description

Event Details

African American author, photographer, and filmmaker Gordon Parks was well known for his documentation of American life and culture. Born in Fort Scott, Kansas, in 1912, he is one of the most esteemed image makers of all time. In this presentation, photographer Ann Dean discusses the impact and inspiration found in Parks’s books: The Learning Tree, A Choice of Weapons, and Half Past Autumn. These books help illustrate Parks’s mother’s teachings centered in love, dignity, and hard work, and provide a starting point to talk about his struggles, choices, and triumphs, all great life lessons for those searching to find their way in this complicated world. Sponsored by Humanities Kansas.

Picture Attribution:

Title

Photographer and film director Gordon Parks, portrait, 1984

Photographer

Schneider, Iris

Date created

September 5, 1984

Publisher

Los Angeles Times

Language

No linguistic content

Collection

Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection

Repository

University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections

Local identifier

uclalat_1429_b2167_300831

ARK

ark:/21198/zz0002t38h

Access Condition

Rights statement

copyrighted

Rights contact

UCLA Library Special Collections, A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library, Box 951575, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575. Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu. Phone: (310) 825-4988

Rights holder

The Regents of the University of California

Rights (country of creation)

US

License

Image removed.

Disclaimer(s)

Library programs, events, and classes are photographed or videotaped for promotional purposes or to document library activities.  Notify library staff if you prefer not to be photographed. 

Los programas de la biblioteca, eventos y clases son fotografiados o filmados con fines promocionales o para documentar las actividades de la biblioteca. Notificar al personal de la biblioteca si prefiere no ser fotografiado.