1. AGAINST ALL
SORTS OF
SOCIAL
WRONGS:
THE FSA Photos of
Gordon Parks
Adrienne Phelps Coco
BHCC
June 18th, 2012

2. Our Goals for Today:
THE SKINNY
Identify key concepts about the relationship between
the Roosevelt administration and the African
American community.
FOR THE TOOLKIT
Learn to “read” photographs as historical evidence.
CONNECT THE DOTS
Craft your own argument about the Great
Depression by analyzing the photographs of Gordon
Parks.

3. “Self-Portrait,”
Gordon Parks
(1945)

4. "I saw that the camera could be a
weapon against poverty, against
racism, against all sorts of social
wrongs. I knew at that point I had
to have a camera.”
Gordon Parks (1999)

5. Ralph Lauren: Blue
Label Ad (2009)
(1885) (1865
)

8. Journal Assignment:
Find a documentary photograph in a
newspaper of your choice.
What’s happening in the photograph?
What details do you see that make
you think this?
What insights into American culture in
2012 does the photograph give you?
How would the photo be a good
source for future historians?

9. Image List:
• Slide One:
• Gordon Parks, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
• Slide Three:
• Gordon Parks, “Self Portrait,” Startribune.com, 1945.
• Shaft Poster, IMDB.com, 1971.
• Slide Five:
• Ralph Lauren Ad, 2009.
• L. Wallack, “Double Portrait: Barber and Client,” from the American
Museum of Photography, 1885.
• “The Giant Baby,” from the American Museum of Photograph, c. 1865.
• Slide Six:
• Gordon Parks, “Mrs. Ella Watson, a government charwoman, with
three grandchildren and her adopted daughter.” Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs, 1942.
• Slide Seven:
• Gordon Parks, “American Gothic, Washington D.C.” Corcoran Gallery
of Art, 1942.
• Grant Wood, “American Gothic,” 1930.