This monograph examines Gordon Parks’s first assignment for Life magazine: his 1948 photo essay on gang warfare in Harlem. After gaining the trust of Leonard “Red” Jackson and his group, Parks made photographs intended to draw attention to the social conditions surrounding youth gangs. Featuring contact sheets, proof prints, and the published Life article, the book traces how Parks’s images were edited and sequenced, revealing the competing editorial choices that shaped the final picture essay.
