We have witnessed countless engaging documentaries about image makers: Martin Parr. It could be cinematic storytelling truly excels when showcasing particularly vivid photographs. Now comes another exceptional example, by writer-director Yemi Bamiro, documenting the impressive life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, performer and social justice champion who represented a distinct politico-aesthetic approach.
Together with his brother Elombe, he virtually invented the expression “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the sixties by capturing the African American women in Harlem: young African American women who became the sensational archetype for beauty, moving beyond typical beauty standards and the usual Caucasian model of femininity.
The Power of Three Words
Black Is Beautiful became a transformative rallying cry, an brilliant memorable manifesto for change. Simply to assert that people of color possessed beauty emerged as a liberating force in art, social movements and creative expression. Brathwaite grew into integral to the social justice African diaspora movement by capturing images of the sports icon before his historic Zaire bout in that era.
He was appointed the primary photographer for the musical group's international performances, and eventually became the resident artist for the historic Apollo theatre, assembling an incredible collection of African American artists. Alongside Elombe, he was the key organizer behind securing Nelson Mandela to speak in the community.
Historical Recognition
Brathwaite's son his namesake shares the family's mission to ensure due acknowledgment for his father's legacy after he was painfully overlooked in Washington DC's cultural museum, established by the former president in 2016.
The feature also recounts the inexpressibly painful inspiration of Brathwaite's dedication to photography: the horrendous images of the lynching martyr, the adolescent Black murder victim whose bereaved parent courageously insisted on an open coffin so the horrific reality of bigoted brutality would not be hidden.
From Tragedy to Hope
In this representation of horror, the artist found a type of anti-epiphany that led him toward visual representations of community. His photographs were eloquent of community pride and frequently nuanced in approach: he curated a innovative visual language of strength through which social causes could unite.
It is an inspiring chronicle of artistic vision that still resonate through the years.
