ยHeยs the godfather of African-American photographers,ย Memphis native and D.C.-based photographer Jason Miccolo Johnson said of Gordon Parks, the first African-American staff photographer at Life magazine. Parks died on March 7th at the age of 93, and Johnson was there at the funeral service at Manhattanยs Riverside Church on March 15th, eulogizing Parks and taking pictures.
It’s what Parks would have wanted him to do, Johnson says. ยIf you were a musician,ย Johnson told The New York Times, ยyou wouldnยt just sit in the audience and listen. You would pick up your instrument and play. So photographers pick up their cameras and shoot.ย
Itยs what Johnsonยs done in the forthcoming Soul Sanctuary: Images of the African American Worship Experience (from Bulfinch press). The bookยs due out in May. The foreword? By Gordon Parks.