In 1942, Gordon Parks received the Julius Rosenwald Fellowship to support his career as a photographer. The Rosenwald Fellowship granted him $2,000 — the equivalent of almost $35,000 today — to move to Washington, D.C. and apprentice for one year under Roy Stryker at the Farm Security Administration. This opportunity helped to set the course for his sixty-year career that would follow.
Now 77 years later, The Gordon Parks Arts & Social Justice Fund is dedicated to providing the same vital support, and to championing current and future generations of artists and humanitarians whose work carries on the legacy of Gordon Parks. Through annual scholarships, prizes and fellowships, students and artists across the country receive critical financial support for work that advances social justice. These wide reaching programs are made possible through The Gordon Parks Arts & Social Justice Fund which is supported by the donations of individuals, corporations, and foundations.