The pen may be mightier than the sword, but it was the camera that called to Gordon Parks. “It was my choice of weapon against what I hated most about the universe: racism, intolerance, poverty.” Born in 1912, the youngest of 15 children, Parks was forced to attend a segregated elementary school. At 25, he bought a Voigtländer Brillant camera for around $7, and soon made history as the first Black staff member of LIFE magazine. As Jim Crow laws took hold across the country, Parks captured the untold humanity of Black Americans—a mighty form of resistance against continuing bigotry. In celebration of the Gordon Parks Foundation’s 20th anniversary, a new exhibition showcases the photographer’s work, highlighting his commitment to social justice. —Maggie Turner