The Bigger Picture show's poster

Why Gordon Parks’ Most Famous Photo Almost Wasn’t Released

Images can tell powerful stories. One iconic photograph can symbolize an entire era. But if we expand the frame and examine the moment in which it was taken, a very different story can emerge. In this series of documentary shorts, Harvard University historian Dr. Vincent Brown meets with curators, photographers and other experts to challenge common assumptions about iconic American images.

Why Gordon Parks’ Most Famous Photo Almost Wasn’t Released

Season 1 Episode 7 | 12m 18s | CC

During World War II, renowned photographer Gordon Parks created an image that was seen as a searing indictment of racial politics in the U.S. with Ella Watson, a cleaner who posed with her mop and broom in front of the American flag. Host Vincent Brown discusses Parks’ motivation for taking the photo, how he worked with Watson and his philosophy that the camera could be used “as a weapon.”

Related stories

Arts & Culture
New political satire from Flamboyán Theatre spotlights Puerto Rican history
Puerto Rican theater company highlights Latin voices in new play series.
 | Carly Rose
News
Young Sand Creek and Amache descendants explore shared history
A new collaboration between the Sand Creek Massacre Foundation and the Amache Alliance is educating young people about their history on Colorado's southeastern plains.
 | Rae Solomon
News
Get your hands on history at History Colorado’s research center
The History Colorado Center’s vast collection of archives and artifacts is free and open to the public. Here’s what it includes and how to access it.
 | Carly Rose

The Bigger Picture

Watch more episodes

See more
See more
Major funding for THE BIGGER PICTURE was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional funding was provided by the Anderson Family Charitable Fund, the Tamara L. Harris Foundation, the William Talbott Hillman Foundation, the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding for the digital production of THE BIGGER PICTURE was provided by Chasing the Dream – a public media initiative from The WNET Group, reporting on poverty, opportunity, and justice in America, and supported by The JPB Foundation, The Peter G. Peterson and Joan Ganz Cooney Fund, and Sue and Edgar Wachenheim, III.