We have witnessed numerous compelling documentaries focusing on image makers: Tish Murtha. Perhaps the film medium truly excels when displaying exceptionally powerful still images. Here we have one more outstanding case, by creator Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the impressive career of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, artist and social justice champion who represented a unique artistic-political vision.
In partnership with his sibling Elombe, he virtually invented the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the mid-century era by photographing the African American women in the cultural epicenter: youthful Black women who emerged as the transformative template for visual appeal, moving beyond typical beauty standards and the predominant white standard of female beauty.
The Impact of a Revolutionary Slogan
Black Is Beautiful transformed into a powerful unifying message, an inspired three-word prose poem for transformation. Merely to assert that black people radiated beauty proved to be a transformative influence in society, politics and the arts. Brathwaite grew into a key figure in the Black power African diaspora struggle by documenting Muhammad Ali leading up to his historic championship fight in the seventies.
He became the exclusive visual documentarian for the Jackson 5's continental journey, and subsequently became the official visual chronicler for the legendary Apollo theatre, creating an extraordinary collection of black musicians. In collaboration with Elombe, he was the driving force behind arranging for the anti-apartheid icon to address the public in Harlem.
Family Legacy
The photographer's offspring his namesake shares the their quest to secure proper recognition for his father's legacy after he was hurtfully ignored in Washington DC's National Museum of African American History and Culture, established by the former president in 2016.
The film additionally explores the deeply tragic inspiration of the photographer's passion for image making: the horrendous photographs of the young victim, the adolescent African American tragic figure whose grieving mother boldly requested an open coffin so the horrific reality of racist violence might not be hidden.
From Tragedy to Empowerment
Through this representation of violence, the visionary discovered a kind of transformative realization that guided him toward photographs of community. His images powerfully conveyed community pride and frequently nuanced in approach: he developed a fresh symbolic representation of pride through which activist groups could unite.
This represents an captivating record of artistic vision that persists in inspire through the years.
