HOUSTON — Never before seen images of a young civil rights activist are on display right now at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. The display shows photographs taken by Life Magazine photographer Gordon Parks of Stokely Carmichael in 1967.
It’s an incredible collection of never before seen black and white photographs by Parks, the first Black staffer for Life Magazine.
"A chance for people to really look back about 60 years and deal with the idea of race and power things that are still hitting us to this very day," MFAH Curator of Photography Lisa Volpe said.
The exhibit is called "Gordon Parks: Stokely Carmichael and Black Power." It's about a 1967 Life Magazine article where Parks published images and a profile of Carmichael -- a young civil rights leader. To publish the article, Parks traveled with Carmichael for months and took nearly 700 pictures.
"Only five appeared. The others went to the archive," Volpe said.
Now, some of those images are on display highlighting issues still being faced today.
"You will see Carmichael fighting for voter registration in Alabama. Fighting for equality and fair districting today," Volpe said.
For Dr. James Thomas Jones III, seeing this exhibit is very surreal.
"As a person who came in within the Black studies movement, these are the guys that started the movement. That I dedicated my career to. It's amazing to have," Jones III said.
The exhibit also has Houston ties. Carmichael and Parks both visited Houston and had speeches in Houston. Those speeches are also part of the display.
The exhibit will be on display until Jan. 16 -- Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It’s included in your general admission the museum is open on Wednesday through Sunday and admission free is on Thursdays.