Photographer, writer, filmmaker, composer, musician (Born 1912)

"I had a great sense of curiosity and a great sense of just wanting to achieve," Gordon Parks told former fifth grade teacher Tysie McDowell-Ray, when she visited him in New York.

Parks’ musical and visual talents chronicled the African American experience and retold his own personal history. This self-taught man with Midwestern roots reflected the spirit and vision of Gordon Parks Elementary School.

It was late fall of 1998. Sue Jarvis and Dorothy Curry were formulating final plans before opening a charter elementary school. But the school needed a name. That day, listed among those notables in the Kansas City Star’s "Birthdays" column, was Gordon Parks, photographer, filmmaker, writer and composer. He was celebrating his 86th birthday.

"That was it! Our school had to be named for this talented man who overcame poverty and adversity," Dorothy recalled. "He was a living hero."

For the last seven years, Gordon Parks the man and Gordon Parks the school have enjoyed a close relationship. They met only through poems and letters and visits from Dorothy and Bill Curry and teachers attending workshops in New York. Bill and Dorothy Curry remember, vividly, their first meeting with Parks in his apartment near the United Nations. "The elevator door opened on to a long, wide hallway and there stood Gordon, wearing sweatpants and a baseball cap," Dorothy said. "From his small living room he had a wonderful view of the East River. At one end was a sitting room; the space at the other end held a grand piano. There was a tiny kitchen and two bedrooms…one was his study with a computer.

When the media converged on Gordon Parks Elementary the morning after Parks’ death, reporters asked Stephanie Briggs, a fifth grader, what she knew about the man whose name adorns her school. Stephanie said, in a loud, clear voice, "Gordon Parks loved children." During the Currys’ annual visit to Parks’ East Side apartment, the living legend never failed to ask about the students and teachers at Gordon Parks and carefully studied poems, drawings and stories sent by students of the school bearing his name.

Kathy Thomas had the opportunity to meet Parks. She remembered how he put her at ease, telling her some of his life stories and asking about her life. "He apologized for the ‘mess’ in his front room. His ‘mess’ consisted of much of his life’s work—his photographs and poetry. Photographs were on the windowsill, on coffee tables and end tables, on his piano, walls...everywhere. He showed us pictures of his family, his ex-wives and significant others!

"As I looked around at his ‘clutter,’ I thought to myself that each object in this room has a story. What a remarkable life this man has led. I only wish we had had more time to hear his stories. I could have stayed for hours and would never have been bored. He was a very easy-going and gentle spirited person, with a sense of humor. He was a man who truly loved life."