In 2013, Adamson Gallery mounted a retrospective of work by the late photographer Gordon Parks. Now, the gallery zeroes in on one of Parks’ documentary projects that elevated the previous exhibit, a Life magazine assignment to photograph ordinary African-American residents living in Jim Crow-era Mobile, Ala. Parks’ images exhibit a deep understanding of his subjects’ plight, likely forged by his own experience growing up poor and black in Fort Scott, Kan. Life eventually published some of the images, but many languished in archival obscurity until Adamson brought them to public attention two years ago. The current exhibit includes some of these familiar images, like those featuring “white” and “colored” water fountains and segregated ordering windows at a soft-serve joint, but it also showcases a number of photographs recently released by the Gordon Parks Foundation. Many of the new inclusions are more intimate, particularly the depictions of residents young and old. Even when Parks’ subjects are smiling—and some of them are—it’s impossible to ignore the pain lurking just below the surface. The exhibition is on view Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Adamson Gallery, 1515 14th St. NW. Free. (202) 232-0707. adamsongallery.com.