Black Classroom, Shady Grove, Alabama after 1956

Editor: This photograph, "Black Classroom, Shady Grove, Alabama," was taken by Gordon Parks sometime after 1956. The old-fashioned classroom looks bleak; there is worn wood panelling and desks askew on the floor. It evokes feelings of isolation and inequality to me. What strikes you when you look at this, Dr. Klein? Curator: Ah, yes. This is where Parks shines, isn’t it? Capturing the dignity of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. To me, the image aches with the ghost of potential. Can you feel the weight of all the lessons learned and not learned in that space? I see hope mingling with systemic denial; the chairs neatly arranged for instruction in spite of the obvious wear and tear. Even the fact that "MAY" is scrawled on the blackboard—the promise of summer—compounds the melancholic beauty. Editor: That makes me consider the story beyond just what I see. It definitely broadens the scope of just seeing it as bleak, that's for sure. Curator: Exactly. Consider the stark visual contrast between the light from that lone bulb struggling to pierce the gloom and the shadows that cling to every corner. Ask yourself what Parks wants us to wrestle with as we witness the space, empty. And consider what stories of education during that period were omitted in traditional accounts, hmmm? Editor: Right, I can certainly get a sense of it. I am really drawn now to consider the arrangement of the desks. Curator: It’s a portrait, ultimately. What do you think those absent figures bring to mind when you visualize filling them in? Editor: I guess that although the desks are neat they are worn; they speak to perseverance, in a way. Thanks for helping me see this beyond face value. Curator: Anytime! It's really just an invitation, though, to experience a new lens through which to see the human story. Parks gave us the beginning; it's up to us to continue the thread, no?