We have witnessed countless fascinating films highlighting image makers: Vivian Maier. Maybe the film medium particularly shines when presenting remarkably striking photographs. Here arrives one more remarkable instance, from writer-director Yemi Bamiro, documenting the extraordinary professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, performer and African American activist who embodied a distinct artistic-political vision.
Alongside his sibling Elombe, he virtually invented the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” in the sixties by capturing the African American women in New York: young Black women who transformed into the groundbreaking standard for beauty, moving beyond typical beauty standards and the established white model of female beauty.
The Impact of a Simple Phrase
Black Is Beautiful evolved into a transformative unifying message, an inspired three-word manifesto for change. Simply stating that African Americans possessed beauty emerged as a liberating influence in art, social movements and creative expression. The artist emerged as integral to the social justice African diaspora cause by documenting the legendary boxer prior to his iconic Zaire bout in that era.
He was appointed the official photographer for the band's international performances, and later was named the official visual chronicler for the iconic cultural institution, building an extraordinary collection of musical pioneers. Alongside his brother, he became the central figure behind arranging for Nelson Mandela to address the public in Harlem.
Personal Journey
Brathwaite's son his namesake is interviewed the personal campaign to secure proper recognition for his family heritage after he was hurtfully overlooked in Washington DC's National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened by Barack Obama in 2016.
The feature also recounts the profoundly sorrowful genesis of the artist's interest in visual storytelling: the disturbing images of the lynching martyr, the adolescent Black lynching victim whose mourning family member defiantly requested an public viewing so the brutal truth of racist violence would not be hidden.
Through Darkness to Hope
Through this image of violence, Brathwaite encountered a type of transformative realization that guided him toward photographs of beauty. His images were eloquent of celebratory strength and frequently not overtly political: he developed a fresh symbolic representation of strength around which political movements could unite.
The documentary stands as an inspiring chronicle of cultural impact that continues to inspire across generations.
