Category Archives: Gordon Parks Museum

Fort Scott, Fort Scott Community College, Gordon Parks Museum, History

Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Rescheduled Due to Forecasted Weather

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Fort Scott, Kan. – With inclement weather and severe cold in the forecast for Jan. 15, the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at Fort Scott Community College is rescheduled to Wednesday, Jan. 17.

In making the announcement, Kirk Sharp, executive director of the Gordon Parks Museum noted that the “Day of Service” (in honor of King’s birthday) begins with a food drive for the Beacon Food Pantry of Fort Scott.

Canned goods and non-perishable, non-expired items can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the museum, located in the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center.

The celebration, with all events open to the community, features a free soup lunch at noon. The lunch, provided by Great Western Dining, includes soup, drink, dessert and birthday cake. The celebration lunch also includes a “I Stand for …” photo promotion, sponsored by the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes.

An afternoon of celebration and tribute through music, “Celebrating Every Voice,” begins at 1 p.m. in the theater and features choirs from the Apostolic Christian Church and the United Missionary Baptist Church, both of Fort Scott, and blues guitarist Lem Sheppard from Pittsburg. All events are free to attend.

 

For more information, go to https//www.gordonparkscenter.org/events or call the museum at (620) 223-2700, ext. 5850 or email [email protected]

 

 

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Fort Scott, Fort Scott Community College, Gordon Parks Museum, History

Celebrating the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 15

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Sending on behalf of Chamber Member

Gordon Parks Museum…..

Celebrating The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

All events will be held at the Ellis Fine Arts Center (2108 S. Horton St., Fort Scott, Ks.)

Monday, January 15th, 2024 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Events

1:00pm-6:00pm – Day of Service: Canned Food Drive – Join us as we will collect canned and non-perishable food items to donate to the Beacon in Fort Scott. Anyone in the community is invited to drop off canned and non-perishable food.

1:00pm-2:00pm – Showing of the PBS home video documentary “In Remembrance of Martin” in the Gordon Parks Museum. FSCC Ellis Fine Arts Center Theatre. This event is free to the public.

2:00pm-3:00pm – Showing of “Martin” – A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Gordon Parks. This is a ballet tribute to Dr. King written and directed by Gordon Parks. FSCC Ellis Fine Arts Center Theatre. This event is free to the public.

5:00pm-6:00pm – Soup Dinner – Come and join us for free soup followed by a music celebration performance at 6:00pm. Soup, drinks and dessert provided by Great Western Dining. Photo Promotion taken with “I Stand For Signs”. FSCC Ellis Fine Arts Center Lobby. This event is free to the public.

For more information, please call 620.223.2700 ext. 5850
Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce | 231 E. Wall Street, Fort Scott, KS 66701
Gordon Parks Museum

         Gordon Parks Museum celebrating the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Fort Scott, Kan. – The Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration will be held Monday, January 15th at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center at Fort Scott Community College.

The day will begin with a Day of Service: Canned Food Drive. Canned and non-perishable (non-expired) food items for the Beacon Food Pantry in Fort Scott, Kansas, will be collected at the museum from 1:00p.m. – till 6:00p.m.

 

At 1:00p.m., A film showing of “In Remembrance of Martin”, a PBS home video documentary.

 

At 2:00 p.m., A film showing of “Martin”, a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by Gordon Parks – This is a ballet tribute to Dr. King, written and directed by Gordon Parks.

 

Later that evening, the community is also invited to the Ellis Fine Arts Center for a free Soup Dinner that will be held at 5:00p.m. This includes soup, drink, dessert and birthday cake. Dinner and dessert will be provided by Great Western Dining. Also taking place that evening will be a Photo Promotion taken with “I Stand for Signs” provided by the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes.

Following the Soup Dinner at 6:00p.m. will be a music celebration performance in the fine arts theater, “Celebrating Every Voice”.  This will be an evening of celebration and tribute through music. Performances provided by local choirs and bands.  The Gordon Parks Museum will also be open 12:00p.m. – 6:00p.m. during the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.

All events are free to attend and will take place at both the Gordon Parks Museum and Ellis Fine Arts center.

 

A full list of film showings and events can be found at https://www.gordonparkscenter.org/events. For more information call the Gordon Parks Museum at 620-223-2700 ext. 5850.

 

For more information call (620) 223-2700, ext. 5850, or email [email protected]

 

Art, Gordon Parks Museum

Gordon Parks Museum Receives Portrait of Gordon Parks

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Fort Scott, Kan. Dec.7, 2023 – A portrait of Gordon Parks painted by Elliott Coke O’Neal of Lawrenceville, Ga., was donated recently to the Gordon Parks Museum.

O’Neal rendered the image in 2009 during an art class at Georgia State College in Atlanta, where he
was a sophomore. He had given the portrait to his great-grandmother, Laverne Person, in Fort Scott the year it was finished.

O’Neal’s grandparents, Arthur Greene and Janice Person-Greene, originally from Fort Scott, who now reside in Olathe, visited the museum on the campus of Fort Scott Community College to formally donate the painting on O’Neal’s behalf.

For information on the Gordon Parks Museum, contact Kirk Sharp, executive director, 620) 223-2700,
ext. 5850, or at [email protected].
.
Janice Person-Greene (left) donating the painting on behalf of their grandson, Elliott Coke O’ Neal.
Photo take by Arthur Greene.
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Fort Scott, Fort Scott Community College, Gordon Parks Museum, History

Gordon Parks Birthday Celebration Is November 30

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Gordon Parks. Submitted photo.

 

Phone: 620-223-2700, ext. 5850                                                

Email: [email protected]

Website: gordonparkscenter.org

 

The Gordon Parks Museum at Fort Scott Community College will celebrate the anniversary of Gordon Parks’ birthday on Thursday, November 30th with the showing of films throughout the day. The events are free of charge and the public is invited to attend.

The schedule throughout the day will include:

 

9:25 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. – Showing of the Criterion Collection film, The Learning Tree.

 

11:25 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. – Showing of the Criterion Collection films The Movie Makers, a featurette that shows Parks on location for The Learning Tree film.  And My Father: Gordon Parks, (1969), a documentary made on the set of The Learning Tree, narrated by Gordon Parks Jr., and featuring on the set interviews with Gordon Parks Sr. and members of the cast and crew.

 

12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Join us for Birthday Cake in the Gordon Parks Museum on the Fort Scott Community College Campus Center.

1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. — Showing of the film Moments Without Proper Names.

 

Throughout the day, visitors will be able to receive a 25% birthday discount on all apparel items.

Parks, born in Fort Scott on November 30, 1912, would have been 111 this year.  He died on March 7, 2006, at the age of 93.  The films will be shown in the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center. For more information contact the Gordon Parks Museum at 620- 223-2700, ext. 5850, or by email at [email protected]

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Gordon Parks Museum

Gordon Parks Museum Newsletter

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new logo July 2018 with address.jpg

Gordon Parks Museum

News, Events & Updates

October 27, 2023

A Journey to Gordon Parks’ Legacy in Paris

Gordon Parks Academy Stem Leaders in Applied and Media Arts

GoFundMe Page

Hello and welcome to the Gordon Parks Trailblazer Foundation GoFundMe page! For the past seven years, we have proudly partnered with A.R.I.S.E. Kansas African Americans Renewing Interest in Spirituals Ensemble Inc, an organization dedicated to renewing interest in Spirituals through music and spoken word, educating people of all cultures about the significance of Spirituals from the underground railroad to the Civil Rights Movement. .

Read more…

Gordon Parks Museum Receives Fort Scott Area Community Foundation Grant

 

New Billboard Replacement

on North 69 HWY

A grant from the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation helped support the replacement of the Gordon Parks Museum Billboard on North 69 Highway outside of Fort Scott, Kansas.

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Gordon Parks Museum Receives a Cross from

the African American Methodist Episcopal (AME)

Shane Walker, resident of Fort Scott, KS and longtime admirer of Gordon Parks, has donated one of the church crosses that was found in the African American Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.

 

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The 21st Annual Gordon Parks Celebration 2024
Save the date for the 21st Annual Gordon Parks Celebration,

Oct 3 – 5, 2024. More details and information will be coming throughout the year.

We would like to thank everyone that was able to attend this last years celebration and we would like to thank all of the area business, organizations and individuals that helped to support the 20th Annual Celebration. We are looking forward to having you all back in 2024!
Find us on the website link below
Gordon Parks Museum Website
Keep in Touch..
Facebook
Gordon Parks Museum | 2108 S. Horton St., Fort Scott, KS 66701
Art, Gordon Parks Museum

GORDON PARKS MUSEUM RECEIVES FORT SCOTT AREA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GRANT FOR BILLBOARD REPLACEMENT

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The new Gordon Parks Museum sign, located on north Hwy. 69, on the outskirts of Fort Scott. Submitted photo.

A grant from the Fort Scott Area Community Foundation helped
support the replacement of the Gordon Parks Museum billboard on North U.S. Highway 69 on the town’s outskirts.

The billboard, which sustained extensive wind damage last spring and summer, is completely different than the previous version with less text and more “eye-catching” graphics, said Kirk Sharp,
the museum’s executive director.

“The new billboard is a great attraction for visitors not only for the museum but also creates great attention and welcome to the community,” he said.

The Fort Scott Area Community Foundation hosts individual charitable funds created by donors who have a passion for giving back to their community. Grants from these funds assist people throughout Fort Scott and Bourbon County. Call the Foundation at (620) 224-6500 with questions about the Community Foundation or go to https://fsacf.com/.

“We are very thankful to be part of this grant,” Sharp said. “This grant allows us to not only replace and install the billboard, but to enhance it and make it easier to see and read while drivers are
traveling and coming into town.”

“We would also like to thank CDL Electric for help with the artwork and installation and replacement of
the new billboard.”
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Fort Scott, Gordon Parks Museum, History

Gordon Parks Museum Receives a Cross from the African American Methodist Episcopal Church

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Shane Walker, left, and Kirk Sharp hold the cross that Walker donated to the Gordon Parks Museum earlier this month. Submitted photol.

Shane Walker, a resident of Fort Scott,  and longtime admirer of Gordon Parks, has donated one of the church crosses that was found in the African American Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.

The donation was held during one of the Gordon Parks Celebration events on Saturday, October 7, “History of the Hawkins/Plaza School and All-School Reunion.”

The wooden cross stands approximately, 3ft-by-5ft and has fixtures for a lighted bulb display.

“We are so very thankful to Shane for this wonderful contribution to our museum.” said Kirk Sharp, museum, executive director. “This cross is great addition with our other artifacts from the AME Church that includes a stain glass window, church pews, corner stone and much more.”

The AME church was located on the southeast corner of Third and Lowman Streets before it was torn down in 2001. Gordon Parks and his family attended this church regularly. The church was also used in a scene from Parks’ acclaimed film, The Learning Tree.

Gordon Parks Museum

Revised 2023 Gordon Parks Celebration Poetry Contest Winners Named

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FORT SCOTT — Winners of the Gordon Parks Celebration “Family, Home
and Roots” poetry contest, sponsored by Helen Townsend and Trabar Associates, have been chosen. Fifteen
entries were received and the winner of First Place was Zian Butler Perez, Manassas, VA
with the poem titled “An Ode to White Rice, Ketchup, and Heuvo Frito.” Second Place was Delvyn Thomas,
Wichita, KS with the poem “Tea Time.” by Kelly Hams Pearson, Parkville, MO. Third Place was Andrew Hall,
Shawnee, KS with the poem, “I am You, Kansas.”
There were three Honorable Mentions named: “Circle.” by Kristin Chambers,
Waverly, KS, “We are Family Playground.” by Daliludeen Ahmedou, (Nevada,
MO) “Breaking” by Lynne Schmidt, Norway, ME and
Hanamo, Flo Au, (Hong Kong)
First, Second, and Third place winners received cash prizes of $200, $75,
and $50 respectively.
The contest was open to any non-professional photographer and was
inspired by Gordon Parks and his love for his family and upbringing.
Poets were invited to capture the essence of the theme.
Judges for the photo contest was Kansas Poet Laureate, Traci Brimhall, Poet
and Author, Annette Hope-Billings and Poet, Cash Hollistah. The poetry exhibit
will be on display on the Gordon Parks Museum facebook page
facebook.com/fsccgpmuseum/ and the museum’s website
gordonparkscenter.org.

Art, Gordon Parks Museum

2023 Gordon Parks Celebration Poetry Contest Winners Named

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Winners of the Gordon Parks Celebration “Family, Home
and Roots” poetry contest, sponsored by Helen Townsend and Trabar Associates, have been chosen.

Fifteen entries were received and the winner of First Place was Zian Butler Perez, Manassas, VA with the poem titled “An Ode to White Rice, Ketchup, and Heuvo Frito.” Second Place was Delvyn Thomas,
Wichita, KS with the poem “Tea Time.” by Kelly Hams Pearson, Parkville, MO. Third Place was Andrew Hall, Shawnee, KS with the poem, “I am You, Kansas.”

There were three Honorable Mentions named: “Circle.” by Kristin Chambers, Waverly, KS, “We are Family Playground.” by Daliludeen Ahmedou, (Nevada, MO) “Breaking” by Lynne Schmidt, Norway, ME and Hanamo, Flo Au, (Hong Kong)

First, Second, and Third place winners received cash prizes of $200, $75, and $50 respectively.
The contest was open to any non-professional photographer and was inspired by Gordon Parks and his love for his family and upbringing.

Photographers were invited to capture the essence of the theme.
Judges for the photo contest was Kansas Poet Laureate, Traci Brimhall, Poet and Author, Annette Hope-Billings and Poet, Cash Hollistah.

The poetry exhibit will be on display on the Gordon Parks Museum’s Facebook page
facebook.com/fsccgpmuseum/ and the museum’s website
gordonparkscenter.org.

 

Art, Gordon Parks Museum

2023 Gordon Parks Celebration Photo Contest Winners Named

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Winners of the Gordon Parks Celebration “Family, Home and Roots” photo contest, sponsored by Merl Humphrey Photography, have been chosen.

Seventy-Five entries were received and the winner of First Place was Karen Cayce, Wichita, KS with the photo titled “Family
Legacy.” Second Place was Delvyn Thomas, Wichita, KS with the photo “Class Family.” Third Place was McKinely Sutton, Uniontown, KS with the photo, “Children.”

There were five Honorable Mentions named: “House.” by (Yasser Alaa Mobarak,( Alexandria, Egypt.); “We are Family Playground.” by Daliludeen Ahmedou, (Nevada, MO) “Follow the Leader” by McKinley Sutton, (Uniontown, KS) “Me and Pa.” by Makiah Woods, (Bronson, KS), “Girl and Sheep”, by Johanna Walker, (Franklin, KS)

First, Second, and Third place winners received cash prizes of $100, $75, and $50 respectively.

The contest was open to any non-professional photographer and was inspired by Gordon Parks and his love for his family and upbringing.

Photographers were invited to capture the essence of the theme.
Judges for the photo contest were professional photographer, Veretta Cobler and established make-up artist and hair stylist, Donna Fumoso based in New York City.

The photo exhibit will be on display on the Gordon Parks Museum
Facebook page facebook.com/fsccgpmuseum/ and the museum’s website
gordonparkscenter.org.

 

Fort Scott, Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce, Gordon Parks Museum

Camber Coffee at Gordon Parks Museum on Oct. 5

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ANNOUNCING THIS WEEK’S
CHAMBER COFFEE
Join us for Chamber Coffee hosted by

Gordon Parks Museum

Thursday, October 5th

8am

2108 S. Horton St.

The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce invites members and guests to a Chamber Coffee event this Thursday, October 5th at 8 a.m. hosted by the Gordon Parks Museum on the campus of Fort Scott Community College, 2108 S. Horton St. Coffee, juice, and light refreshments will be served in addition to a door prize drawing.

The Chamber Coffee will kick off the 20th Annual Gordon Parks Celebration to be held this weekend for which the full schedule of events may be found on gordonparkscenter.org. The Celebration is in honor Fort Scott native Gordon Parks, noted photographer, writer, musician, and filmmaker. Kirk Sharp, Executive Director of the Museum, and the committee work throughout the year to bring in artists, speakers, programs, and events that have enriched our community and world for all ages. A highlight this year is the “Celebration Dance Party” featuring KC All Stars at the River Room Event Center. KC All Stars was voted the “Best Band in Kansas City” by KCMB-TV for the last four years in a row! Tickets are available at the Gordon Parks Museum, online at gordonparkcenter.org, or call 620.223.2700 ext. 5850.

Contact the Chamber of Commerce at (620) 223-3566 for more information.

 

Click here for their Facebook Page!

We hope to see you there!
Thank you to our Chamber Champion members
shown below!
FORT SCOTT AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
620-223-3566
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