Gordon Parks produced, wrote, scored, and directed THE LEARNING TREE (’69) — a coming-of-age drama based on his semi-autobiographical novel. His work on the Warner Brothers film helped pave the way for Black filmmakers working with major Hollywood studios. | Turner Classic Movies: TCM

Une histoire des cinéastes noirs américains #4 - The Learning Tree (Gordon Parks, 1969) "Sait-on que Gordon Parks, avant Shaft, a réalisé un film digne de Kazan, The Learning Tree ?" Cahiers du Cinéma n°738, novembre 2017 https://www.cahiersducinema.com/produit/novembre-2017-n738 | Cahiers Du Cinéma (officiel)

Richard Roundtree, who starred as detective John Shaft in Gordon Parks’ 1971 action thriller, died Tuesday afternoon after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81-years-old. Since the announcement, tributes have poured in from Roundtree’s acting colleagues. Gabrielle Union said working with the longtime actor on “Being Mary Jane” was a “dream.” Tia Mowry shared a touching tribute to Roundtree, who worked with her on the Netflix series “Family Reunion.” On Instagram, she wrote, “Richard,