On Saturday, February 10, 2024, at 1:00 pm, the Greater Kansas City Black History Study Group held its annual Black History Month celebration and meeting at the Black Archives of Mid-America located at 1722 E. 17th Ter., Kansas City, MO 64108. The celebration featured keynote speaker, Mr. Kirk Sharp, Executive Director of the Gordon Parks Museum in Ft. Scott, Kansas. Gordon Parks was a native of Fort Scott, KS, who left at the age of 15 to escape the bigotry of his hometown. In his presentation, Gordon Parks: The Renaissance Man, Sharp discussed the remarkable life story of Gordon Parks, an internationally-known photographer, filmmaker, musician, and writer. His discussion included some of Park’s photography, films, books, and music. He also shared details of a connection Parks had with Poet, Langston Hughes.
Gordon Parks, one of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century, was a humanitarian with a deep commitment to social justice. He left behind an exceptional body of work that documents American life and culture from the early 1940s into the 2000s, with a focus on race relations, poverty, civil rights, and urban life”. Mr. Sharp’s presentation left the audience eager to learn more about the life work of Gordon Parks.
“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”. (Source: The Gordon Parks Foundation)
Food and prizes were also a part of the celebration.