[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 43 (Thursday, April 6, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H1566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING GORDON PARKS

  (Mr. RYUN of Kansas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RYUN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a 
great American, my constituent Gordon Parks.
  Mr. Parks was born in Fort Scott, Kansas, the youngest of 15 
children. Mr. Parks' accomplishments from this simple beginning are far 
too many to name in the limited time allotted to me, but allow me to 
list some of his more significant contributions.
  Mr. Parks was the first African American to write, produce and direct 
a motion picture. He was an award-winning photographer for Life 
magazine and helped found Essence, the first magazine targeted to 
African American women.
  Mr. Parks won an Emmy in 1968 for the documentary, Diary of a Harlem 
Family. He received the National Medal of Arts from President Reagan in 
1988, and was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame 
in 2002.
  Mr. Speaker, Gordon Parks passed away on March 6, 2006, leaving 
behind an expansive legacy. I come to the floor today to honor his life 
and to thank him for significant breakthroughs that occurred because of 
his life.

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