We have witnessed numerous fascinating films highlighting visual artists: Tish Murtha. Maybe the documentary format naturally comes alive when displaying remarkably striking photographs. Here arrives a new remarkable instance, from filmmaker Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the extraordinary career of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, performer and social justice champion who embodied a special cultural-activist vision.
Alongside his family member Elombe, he virtually invented the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” in the mid-century era by photographing the Grandassa Models in Harlem: young women of color who became the groundbreaking archetype for aesthetics, abandoning traditional grooming practices and the established Eurocentric standard of female beauty.
The Power of Three Words
Black Is Beautiful evolved into a transformative unifying message, an inspired memorable prose poem for change. Merely stating that black people were beautiful became a transformative force in culture, social movements and culture. The photographer became integral to the civil rights African diaspora cause by photographing Muhammad Ali leading up to his historic Zaire bout in that era.
He became the primary image creator for the band's African tour, and subsequently became the official visual chronicler for the legendary cultural institution, creating an incredible archive of black musicians. In collaboration with Elombe, he was the driving force behind bringing the South African leader to speak in the community.
Family Legacy
Brathwaite's son his namesake shares the family's mission to secure appropriate credit for his father's legacy after he was unjustly excluded in Washington DC's Smithsonian institution, opened by Barack Obama in 2016.
This documentary also recounts the deeply tragic inspiration of Brathwaite's dedication to visual storytelling: the horrendous pictures of the young victim, the young Black lynching victim whose bereaved parent defiantly requested an open coffin so the horrific reality of racist violence might not be covered up.
Amidst Sorrow to Beauty
In this representation of tragedy, the visionary discovered a form of anti-epiphany that led him toward visual representations of community. His images powerfully conveyed empowering beauty and often nuanced in approach: he developed a new iconography of pride upon which social causes could unite.
The documentary stands as an captivating record of artistic vision that continues to empower across generations.
