Get Gordon Parks High School

Gordon Parks was one of the most groundbreaking figures in 20th century photography. His photojournalism during the 1940s to the 1970s reveals important aspects of American culture, and he became known for focusing on issues of civil rights, poverty, race relations and urban life.

His high school had both black people and white people, because the town was too small for segregated high schools, but black students were not allowed to play sports or attend school social activities, and they were discouraged from developing aspirations for higher education.

At fifteen, Parks was forced to fend for himself. He initially continued his schooling at Central High School, but eventually dropped out before graduation.

Parks had been sent to St. Paul to live with his sister and brother-in-law following the death of his mother when he was 15. Parks was kicked out of the house by his brother-in-law and became homeless, so he dropped out of high school and never finished.

Parks died on March 7, 2006, of complications from high blood pressure and prostate cancer at his Manhattan home. He was 93. He is survived by his son, David; his daughters, Toni and Leslie; five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. His son Gordon Jr.

At fifteen, Parks was forced to fend for himself. He initially continued his schooling at Central High School, but eventually dropped out before graduation. Eager to earn a living, he worked a number of jobs as a brothel pianist and a busboy in a gentleman's club.

Musician. Parks began playing piano when he was a child and wrote music pieces throughout his career. In 1956 the Vienna Orchestra performed a piano concerto Parks wrote. He also composed the music for some of the films he directed.

Parks did not finish high school. His mother died when he was 15, and he went to live with an older sister and her husband in St. Paul, Minnesota. But his brother-in-law soon threw him out of the house after an argument, leaving him homeless.