CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 6/8/2020

Power and Poetry: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Gordon Parks and Muhammad Ali

Featured image is from Gordon Parks: Muhammad Ali, the extraordinary new monograph from Steidl, the Gordon Parks Foundation and Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, featuring iconic and previously unpublished photographs from a 1966 Life magazine photo essay and more. "When Gordon Parks photographed and profiled Muhammad Ali for Life magazine in 1966, and then photographed him again in 1970, in some ways he might just as easily have been making self-portraits and writing about himself," fellow sports and civil rights hero Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes in his Introduction. "Both men were tenacious fighters. Both men bore the scars of lifelong racism. Both men were internationally acclaimed, yet both were more devoted to speaking out for social justice than seeking out personal success. And though both were celebrated for their nonverbal art—Ali's balletic boxing and Gordon's poignant photography—what truly bound them together was their powerful use of words, specifically poetry, to express their optimism for the promise of America—and frustration with the reality. And, more important, to inspire positive change."