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Gordon Parks' 'Family Portrait': A Picture of Poverty In 1960s pictorial essay, Gordon Parks presented a story of poverty in America. Now the photos and the family featured in them are the subject of a documentary, Family Portrait. NPR's Tavis Smiley talks with the writer-director of the film and one of the family members about the story behind those now-famous photographs.

Gordon Parks' 'Family Portrait': A Picture of Poverty

Heard on The Tavis Smiley Show

Gordon Parks' 'Family Portrait': A Picture of Poverty

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The Fontennelle Family, pictured here in the early 1960s, was the subject of a 1967 Gordon Parks photo essay. Courtesy Gordon Parks hide caption

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Courtesy Gordon Parks

In 1960s pictorial essay, Gordon Parks presented a story of poverty in America. Now the photos and the family featured in them are the subject of a documentary, Family Portrait. NPR's Tavis Smiley talks with the writer-director of the film and one of the family members about the story behind those now-famous photographs.