In memory of the late Gordon Parks and in celebration of Juneteenth

A call to youth: Let your photographs depict freedom

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MONTICELLO, NY — What do the memory of America’s most famous black photographer and a photo contest for young people inviting them to depict their concept of freedom have in common?

In the mind and heart of L. Monique, a local poet and spoken-word artist, they are inextricably linked to Sullivan County’s Fourth Annual Juneteenth celebration, which will take place on June 17 at the Ted Stroebel Community Center, formerly known as the Neighborhood Facility.

By remembering Gordon Parks, the famous African American photographer whose images provided a revealing look into both the darkest and most uplifting aspects of the American black experience, and by inviting young people to submit photos depicting their concept of freedom, L. Monique and Juneteenth organizers hope to educate people about the past while providing a hopeful vision for the future.

What is Juneteenth?

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery. It celebrates June 19, 1865, the date that Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that all slaves were now free. Sadly, this was two-and-a-half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had had little impact on the Texans due to insufficient troops to enforce the new executive order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865 and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to back up the law.

This year marks the 141st anniversary of Juneteenth, a holiday whose emphasis is not on glorifying the terrible legacy of slavery, but rather on emphasizing education and achievement.

Leading up to this year’s day of celebration in Monticello, L. Monique of Smokin’ Spoken Wordz Productions, in conjunction with the Sullivan County NAACP and support from Sullivan County’s Tobacco Free Coalition, will sponsor a photo contest entitled “The Parks Project” in memory of the late Gordon Parks, whose iconic photo essays taken during his twenty-year career at “Life” were a visual indictment of injustice in the world’s most affluent country. The theme of the photo contest is “A Depiction of Freedom.” The Parks Project photo contest offers area youth an opportunity not only to create stirring visual images of freedom, but to continue the legacy of consciousness-raising photography left by Gordon Parks.

The photo contest is only one part of this year’s planned Juneteenth celebration in Monticello, dubbed “Breaking Chains.” There will be a fashion show in which men and their children (including relatives such as nieces and nephews) are invited to model sports, casual or formal wear featuring the colors red, green or black. Celebrants are invited to form their own seven-person basketball teams and register for youth (12 to 18 years old) and adult basketball tournaments. Live entertainment will include poetry reading by poets like Nathan P of Brooklyn, Bad Gurl Eshey from the Bronx, The ReadNex Poetry Squad and Monique herself, drumming by The Jackson Brothers and dance by Christian Giunta.

To register for basketball call 845/796-2640. For other event information call 845/794-2854.

Gordon Parks: An inspirational legacy

During his long career, Gordon Parks captured the struggles and triumphs of black America in pictures. His work had an enormous effect on the consciousness of America. One of his most famous images, “American Gothic, Washington, D.C.,” is the photograph of Ella Watson, a woman who mopped floors for the government all her life, standing in front of the American flag. It became a metaphor for the discrepancy between the idyllic notion of the American dream and the stark reality of those who were denied access to it.

Parks, who was the youngest of 15 children, was born in Fort Scott, Kansas, a town Parks later described as, “electrified by racism.” Despite a childhood marked by terrible poverty, Parks was imbued with strong values by his parents who stressed the virtues of honesty, education and equality.

He became interested in photography while working for the railroad in Seattle in 1937. Although he initially gained renown as a fashion photographer, it was his photography of Chicago’s slums that won him a $200 dollar Julius Rosenwald Fellowship in 1941. That helped him land a job at the Farm Service Agency, where, on his first day of work, he took the famous photo of Watson.

From 1948 to 1968 Parks worked for Life magazine, where he covered a spectrum of subjects including black gangs in Harlem, the Ingrid Bergman-Roberto Rosselini love affair, an American poetry series using photographs to interpret the works of Malcolm X and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. Parks’ documentation of a young asthmatic boys dying in the hills in Brazil elicited generous donations that allowed him to bring Flavio Da Silva to the U.S. for treatment, where he recovered.

Photography was not Parks’ only medium: his film career included milestones such as “Shaft,” and he also wrote musical compositions including “Martin,” a ballet about the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1995 Parks donated his works to the Library of Congress. He died in 2004.

Contest rules

Participants must be from the Hudson Valley Area and under 21 years of age and must be present on the day of the event (June 17) at approximately 5:00 p.m. for announcements of winner and awards.

Original photos (black and white are preferred but color will be accepted) in sizes no smaller than 5x7 but no larger than 8x10 should be submitted by May 30. The theme of the contest is “A Depiction of Freedom.” A $5 processing fee must accompany each entry. Payments should be via a U.S. Postal Money Order made out to Sullivan County Chapter NAACP.

The winning photographer will be interviewed and have his or her work published in The River Reporter newspaper. A $25 gift basket of gift certificate will also be awarded, and the winning photo will appear on next year’s Breaking Chains fliers and promotional materials.

Mail entries securely complete with name of photographer, age, school name (if applicable), mailing address and daytime telephone number.

Mail entries to The Parks Project, 8 Smith Street, Monticello, NY 12701.

A maximum of two entries per person with entry fees will be accepted, but only one of the two will be selected for the contest. Those interested in having their photos returned must include a stamped self-addressed envelope.

Contact L. Monique, Breaking Chains coordinator, at 845/794-2845.