Gordon Parks, Black Muslim Rally, Harlem, New York, 1963. Gelatin silver print; 32 7/8 x 44 3/4 inches (framed) "In the last ten years, black Americans have turned four hundred years of despair and oppression into an era of rebellion and hope" — this is how Gordon Parks opens his book Born Black: A Personal Report on the Decade of Black Revolt 1960 – 1970.
Born Black, the seminal photography and essay book originally published in 1971, was the first one to unite the celebrated photographer's writing and visual art. The book documents a crucial period in American history when civil rights and Black Power movements were on the rise, but it is also a remarkable testament to Parks's skills in capturing the world around him.
This year, more than 50 years since its first publication, the expanded edition of Born Black was published by Steidl, bringing new depth to Parks' original vision for the book, providing a richer context for the series it encompasses. The initial publication, which included nine articles commissioned by Life magazine between 1963 and 1970—some never before published—was complemented by Parks' own reflections, offering a personal perspective on pivotal historical moments.
This new edition retains the original text and images, while also incorporating additional photographs from each series, spreads from the 1971 book, early correspondence, Life article reproductions, and fresh scholarly essays. Parks' nine chosen series, including a rare inside look at San Quentin State Prison, extensive coverage of the Black Muslim movement and the Black Panther Party, commentary on the deaths of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., intimate portraits of figures like Stokely Carmichael, Muhammad Ali, and Eldridge Cleaver, as well as a depiction of life in Harlem’s Fontenelle family, have become integral to his legacy as both a photographer and activist.
This newly reimagined edition of Born Black underscores the enduring impact of these works and their vital role in shaping our understanding of a crucial period in American history.
The images in Born Black were collected from nine photo essays that Parks originally published for Life magazine, in which he demonstrated deep empathy with his subjects and the importance of compassion when creating art. As a Black man in America, Parks started out from the position of an outsider and put his efforts into portraying the lives of Black Americans: those on the forefront of struggles for equal rights, and those trying to get by in the system rigged against them.
Being interested in both the mainstream and the radical, Parks portrayed the Black Muslim movement and Black Panthers, but also the everyday life, as in his series that captured the life of the impoverished Fontenelle family in Harlem. His subjects, whether anonymous or celebrated, prompt viewers into thinking about what it means to be born Black in the US and how much this defines one's prospects and position in life.
"But what seems to matter far more is that we are born black. That single fact would control our destiny above all others," Park would explain.
One of the photo essays offers a rare view inside San Quentin State Prison, while several others are conceptualized as intimate portrait studies of Muhammad Ali, Stokely Carmichael, and Eldridge Cleaver. His other series are commentaries on the deaths of civil rights leaders Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., with photographs of these iconic leaders presented alongside those of crowds gathering to protest police brutality.
In the book's final essay, Parks recalls a conversation he had with the Black Panther Party leader, Eldridge Cleaver, who invited him to be their minister of information. Refusing the position, he explained that he is interested in all factions and minorities of the Black movement. Later, critical of his own reply but not of his stance, he explained that he should have replied more generally, emphasizing the universality of "black man's ordeal," which is experienced in different ways by different individuals.
Similarly, his photos and writing pieces offer an inclusive vision of Black life in the US in the 20th century, regardless of whether they captured monumental or everyday moments.
As the youngest of 15 children, Parks experienced poverty and segregation from an early age. He attended a segregated elementary school and was not allowed to attend social events or play sports in high school.
"America is still a racist nation. It has not learned much from the turbulent decade just passed. We black people are still perplexed by the blood we must shed and the deaths we must die—as Americans," wrote Parks in one of his texts.
He was first drawn to photography after seeing photos of migrant workers in a magazine, and later purchased a camera at a pawn shop and started making fashion photos for a local store in St. Paul. Recognized for his talent and unique style, he managed to enter the world of professional photography and was awarded the prestigious Julius Rosenwald Fellowship in 1942. He chose to work with Roy Stryker and the FSA and, around that time, created American Gothic, one of the most iconic images of the last century.
Parks was the first African American staff photographer for Life magazine, a position he solidified with his 1948 photo essay about a Harlem gang leader, and remained in that position for the next two decades. His photographs captured the turbulent times in American history, revealing the essence of activism and humanitarianism of mid-20th century America, but also illuminated the effects the racialized system had on the everyday lives of Black Americans.
Gordon Parks's book is a historical document and artistic vision of a moment in time combined into one. Besides showing the perils and dangers associated with being a Black activist and capturing the moments of both protest and contemplation, it also reveals a deep empathy and understanding the person behind the lens had for its subjects and the masterful precision in capturing a potent moment in time.
What you force me to be is what you are. For I am you, staring back from a mirror of poverty and despair, of revolt and freedom.
These lines by Parks that open the book, mark, from the outset, a recognition that nothing exists in isolation and that everything is interconnected. The plight of one group is deeply intertwined with what we all as a collective allow, what we create, and who we are in the first place.
In light of the present instances of violence happening from Europe to the Middle East, the mirror facing us shows the monstrous face, the one sedimented over the decades, which Black Power and civil rights movements attempted to alter. Instead of kindness and compassion, it oozes with cruelty, brutality, and ignorance. More than being a historical document, Parks's words seem uncannily prescient.
Look at me. Listen to me. Try to understand my struggle against your racism. There is yet a chance for us to live in peace beneath these restless skies.
