In 1968 famous photographer Gordon Parks produced a series of shocking photos chronicling the life of a Harlem family plagued by hard times. Parks set out to showcase an intimate look at what causes so much chaos in inner cities and the people who are directly effected by it. The Fontenelle family, Park's subjects, were essentially an attempt to shed understanding on a basic truth that families across America were trying to sustain a life for their families. During the month that Parks stayed with the Fontenelles, he was exposed to fights, domestic abuse, extreme poverty and the bond that held it all together. Bessie Fontenelle holding her son Richard after being beaten by her Husband in a drunken rage. After this photo essay was published, readers of Life contributed so much that the family was able to get a new home and even employment for the Norman Fontenelle, the father. Unfortunately a house fire killed Norman Fontenelle an
Culture is being connected through the things that make home, home.