[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 30 (Thursday, March 9, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE LIFE OF GORDON ROGER ALEXANDER BUCHANAN PARKS

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                            HON. TODD TIAHRT

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 9, 2006

  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Gordon 
Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks and to extend my condolences to his 
family and friends on his death this week.
  Mr. Parks was born in 1912 in Fort Scott, Kansas, where he also spent 
his childhood years. His life was an example of hope, tenacity, courage 
and accomplishment. He inspired many with thought-provoking photographs 
and images as seen through his lenses. He captured the poverty of many 
Americans, highlighted racism, and made us aware of people largely 
ignored.
  He also captured inspiring images of beauty and courage that attested 
to the freedom of the human spirit. Mr. Parks was a man who found 
beauty nearly everywhere he went. His work told the story of freedom, 
of breaking boundaries and of hope in difficult times.
  Freedom was, in Mr. Parks' own words, what his work was about. He 
helped African Americans gain new ground in their struggle for 
recognition of their civil rights. He helped make America aware of the 
gang wars within some of our urban cities. And he captured beauty 
wherever he saw it.
  He brought to America many untold stories from other parts of the 
world, including his famous Life magazine account of Flavio da Silva, 
the young Brazilian boy suffering from tuberculosis. Like other works 
of Mr. Parks, his pictures elicited action. Approximately $30,000 was 
sent from readers to help bring Flavio to America where he was soon 
cured of tuberculosis.
  Mr. Parks' success was not just in his numerous honors and awards for 
a lifetime of outstanding work as a photojournalist, author, film 
director, and musician, but also as an individual who triumphed over 
racism, poverty and a lack of formal education. Rather than lashing out 
in anger at the injustice he both experienced and witnessed though much 
of his life, he chose to challenge the status quo through his 
photography, his writings and his stories.
  Kansans learned many important lessons from Mr. Parks. It took a lot 
of grace and courage for him to address the injustices of his past, and 
for that we are grateful. America needs more people who will strive to 
do good in the face of adversity. Our country and the world are a 
better place because of his example.
  In 1986 Kansas honored Mr. Parks by naming him Kansan of the Year. 
Then in 1988, President Ronald Reagan awarded him with the National 
Medal of Arts. More recently, he received the University of Kansas' 
William Allen White Foundation National Citation for journalistic merit 
in 2006.
  I hope the House of Representatives will quickly pass the resolution 
in honor of Mr. Parks sponsored by my Kansas colleague, Jim Ryun. It is 
appropriate that Congress acknowledge his life and many positive 
contributions to our country.
  I hope the memory of Mr. Parks will live on for generations and that 
his family and friends will find solace in the legacy he leaves behind. 
May Gordon Parks rest in peace.

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