This untitled photograph was taken in 1943 from a fire escape that overlooked a bustling 7^th Avenue in Harlem, New York. 

During the 1920s and 30s, Harlem was the center of a cultural outpouring in the visual, literary, and performing arts. Now known as the Harlem Renaissance, this era unearthed such talents as Zora Neale Hurston, Louis Armstrong, and Langston Hughes, who paved the way for mainstream exposure to Black American artists following this cultural golden age. The same year this photo was taken, Parks joined Life Magazine as the publication’s first Black staff photographer. As his career progressed, Parks went on to document some of the most memorable shots of the 20^th century, creating unforgettable imagery of Muhammed Ali, Martin Luther King Jr., Duke Ellington, and more.