There have been countless fascinating films focusing on image makers: Martin Parr. It could be cinematic storytelling truly excels when displaying particularly vivid still images. Today we have another outstanding case, from filmmaker Yemi Bamiro, exploring the impressive life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, musician and social justice champion who embodied a special cultural-activist perspective.
In partnership with his family member Elombe, he virtually invented the expression “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the sixties by photographing the Harlem models in Harlem: young Black women who emerged as the sensational standard for visual appeal, abandoning traditional beauty standards and the predominant Caucasian model of womanhood.
The Power of a Simple Phrase
Black Is Beautiful evolved into a radical rallying cry, an brilliant three-word manifesto for progress. Simply declaring that African Americans were beautiful became a transformative influence in art, politics and creative expression. The artist grew into a key figure in the civil rights African diaspora cause by capturing images of the legendary boxer prior to his legendary championship fight in the seventies.
He served as the official visual documentarian for the band's African tour, and subsequently was named the official visual chronicler for the historic Harlem venue, creating an incredible archive of African American artists. Together with his brother, he was the central figure behind securing the anti-apartheid icon to appear in the community.
Family Legacy
The photographer's offspring the younger Brathwaite recounts the family's campaign to ensure due acknowledgment for his parent's achievements after he was unjustly excluded in the prestigious National Museum of African American History and Culture, inaugurated by Barack Obama in this century.
This documentary further reveals the profoundly sorrowful origin of the artist's dedication to image making: the disturbing pictures of the lynching martyr, the young Black tragic figure whose bereaved parent boldly insisted on an uncovered casket so the violent nature of bigoted brutality would not be concealed.
From Tragedy to Empowerment
From this representation of violence, Brathwaite found a type of anti-epiphany that led him toward photographs of community. His images were eloquent of community pride and typically nuanced in approach: he curated a fresh visual language of strength upon which activist groups could mobilize.
It is an captivating testament of creative genius that persists in empower through the years.
