There have been numerous fascinating features highlighting photographers: Vivian Maier. It could be the film medium truly excels when showcasing remarkably striking photographs. Today comes one more exceptional instance, directed by filmmaker Yemi Bamiro, documenting the remarkable professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, musician and civil rights advocate who represented a special politico-aesthetic approach.
Together with his brother Elombe, he pioneered the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the sixties by capturing the African American women in Harlem: emerging Black women who became the transformative archetype for visual appeal, rejecting conventional beauty standards and the predominant Caucasian standard of womanhood.
The Power of a Simple Phrase
Black Is Beautiful transformed into a radical unifying message, an inspired three-word declaration for progress. Simply stating that African Americans radiated beauty became a liberating power in society, activism and the arts. The photographer emerged as integral to the Black power African diaspora struggle by photographing the sports icon leading up to his legendary championship fight in that era.
He was appointed the primary image creator for the band's continental journey, and eventually was named the house photographer for the iconic cultural institution, assembling an incredible collection of African American artists. Together with his brother, he became the driving force behind bringing the anti-apartheid icon to address the public in New York.
Historical Recognition
His son his namesake shares the their campaign to secure proper recognition for his father's legacy after he was painfully excluded in the prestigious National Museum of African American History and Culture, inaugurated by the former president in this century.
The film further reveals the deeply tragic inspiration of the artist's interest in photography: the horrendous photographs of Emmett Till, the teenage African American tragic figure whose bereaved parent defiantly insisted on an uncovered casket so the horrific reality of bigoted brutality might not be covered up.
From Tragedy to Beauty
Through this image of horror, the visionary discovered a type of profound understanding that led him toward photographs of beauty. His images beautifully expressed community pride and typically not overtly political: he curated a new iconography of pride upon which social causes could mobilize.
This represents an exhilarating chronicle of creative genius that still resonate through the years.
