Gordon Parks

The pre-eminent American photojournalist of sub-Saharan descent. An acclaimed photographer for Life magazine from the late 40s through late 60s, he turned to directing films, his second of which, the blaxploitation movie _Shaft (1971)_ (qv), achieved success at the box office. In 1989 his first film effort, _The Learning Tree (1969)_ (qv), was selected among the first 25 films so honored, by the U.S. Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry for all time.::Bill Takacs <kinephile@aol.com>