Events

WAM Nights: Screening of Gordon Parks’ Shaft (1971) | Rated R

July 18, 2025 | 6:00pm - 8:30pm

“Homeward to the Prairie I Come: Gordon Parks Photographs from the Beach Museum of Art", Featured Event, FREE Event, Exhibitions, WAM Nights

Cost: Free and open to the public

About this Event

Photo of a man standing in front of a brick building on the campus of Wichita State University

Dr. Kevin Sylvester Harrison: On Film, Identity, and Community

Screening of Gordon Parks’ Shaft (1971) | Rated R

Friday, July 18, 2025 | 6–8 PM
Howard E. Wooden Auditorium
Free and open to the public. Cash bar.


6 PM – Bar opens
6:30 PM – Screening begins
8:15 PM – Post-film conversation with Dr. Kevin Sylvester Harrison

Gordon Parks broke ground as both a photographer and filmmaker. His iconic, blockbuster movie Shaft debuted one of the most influential Black action heroes (played by Richard Roundtree). With Shaft, Parks infused moxie, humor, and grit to depictions of the civil rights and Black Power movements in popular culture.

Dr. Kevin Sylvester Harrison—WSU faculty member, musician, and filmmaker—will introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion. He will reflect on the historical significance of Shaft and explore how its themes continue to resonate today.
Dr. Harrison came to Wichita State in 2015 as Community Engagement Coordinator for Diversity and Community Engagement, later serving in a similar position for the Division of Military and Veterans. During his time at Wichita State, he has also served as an instructor for various ethnic studies and women studies courses and has managed a variety of community engagement programs sponsored by Textron Aviation. He currently serves as Assistant Teaching Professor in the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College.
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Featured Exhibition

Homeward to the Prairie I Come: Gordon Parks Photographs from the Beach Museum of Art

May 11 - July 27, 2025

Homeward to the Prairie I Come presents a powerful collection of photographs by Kansan Gordon Parks, highlighting the artist's remarkable documentary work for LIFE magazine, alongside more experimental images that reflect his deep connection to the American heartland.

Learn More  About Homeward to the Prairie I Come: Gordon Parks Photographs from the Beach Museum of Art

Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks, Pool Hall, from the series Fort Scott Revisited, 1950, printed in 2017, gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches. Kansas State University, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, gift of Gordon Parks and the Gordon Parks Foundation, 2017.445. Image courtesy of and copyright by The Gordon Parks Foundation.