Gordon Parks/Community-Inspired » instagram westport showcase

The following photographs document the Westport Gordon Parks-inspired Black Lives Matter portrait series created by two eighth-grade students at the Boys and Girls Club, Wanya, Jalyn and one ninth-grade student, Daishell. Using a book from the Westport Academy book set by Carole Boston Weatherford, “Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America,” as a springboard, the students explored both Gordon Parks and other significant contributors to the rich history of AfricanAmerican photographers. After a scaffolded learning process around technical knowledge of cameras, elements of photography, and Gordon Parks’ mission of social justice that drove his work, they explored local photographers doing similar work today, such as Devin Allen. The students then came up with the project idea to photograph all of the students at the Westport Boys and Girls Club in the spirit of Gordon Parks’ “American Gothic,” photograph of Emma Watson to tell the stories of Westport’s children. At the end of the year People of the Word art showcase, they created a Black Lives Matter exhibit, displaying not only their own photography but also Gordon Parks’, as well as collages of African-American victims of police brutality.