- Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was born on November 30, 1912
- Awarded a fellowship for photography from the Rosenwald Fund in 1941
- Photography: Dinner Time at Mr. Hercules Brown’s Home in 1944
- Photography: Car Loaded with Furniture on Highway in 1945
- Photography: Ferry Commuters in 1946
- Photography: Grease Plant Worker in 1946
- Authored Flash Photography in 1947
- First African-American staff photographer and writer for Life Magazine in 1948
- Authored The Learning Tree in 1964
- Authored A Choice of Weapons in 1967
- Co-founder of Essence magazine in 1968
- Editorial Director of Essence magazine from 1968-71
- Wrote, produced, and directed the film The Learning Tree in 1969
- Directed the film Shaft in 1971
- Awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP in 1972
- Directed and composed the musical score for the film Shaft’s Big Score in 1972
- Authored To Smile in Autumn in 1979
- Awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Thiel College in 1984
- Awarded National Medal of Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in 1988
- Parks died at the age of 93 on March 7, 2006