History has seen countless fascinating documentaries highlighting image makers: Vivian Maier. Perhaps cinematic storytelling truly excels when displaying exceptionally powerful photographs. Here arrives a new remarkable example, by writer-director Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the impressive life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, performer and civil rights advocate who exemplified a distinct artistic-political approach.
In partnership with his brother Elombe, he effectively created the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” in the 1960s by capturing the Harlem models in the cultural epicenter: young African American women who became the transformative template for visual appeal, abandoning traditional grooming practices and the usual Caucasian model of femininity.
The Influence of a Simple Phrase
Black Is Beautiful transformed into a transformative rallying cry, an inspired three-word declaration for transformation. Merely stating that black people possessed beauty emerged as a transformative power in society, politics and the arts. The artist became integral to the social justice African diaspora struggle by capturing images of the sports icon leading up to his historic Rumble in the Jungle in the seventies.
He served as the exclusive image creator for the musical group's continental journey, and subsequently was named the resident artist for the iconic Apollo theatre, assembling an incredible portfolio of black musicians. In collaboration with his sibling, he was the central figure behind arranging for the South African leader to appear in the community.
Personal Journey
His son the younger Brathwaite is interviewed the their mission to achieve appropriate credit for his family heritage after he was unjustly ignored in Washington DC's Smithsonian institution, opened by Barack Obama in this century.
This documentary also recounts the inexpressibly painful inspiration of the photographer's dedication to visual storytelling: the shocking photographs of the young victim, the young African American tragic figure whose mourning family member boldly requested an public viewing so the horrific reality of racial hatred might not be covered up.
Amidst Sorrow to Empowerment
In this representation of violence, Brathwaite found a form of profound understanding that guided him toward photographs of aspiration. His photographs beautifully expressed empowering beauty and frequently nuanced in approach: he curated a new symbolic representation of strength around which activist groups could gather.
The documentary stands as an captivating record of artistic vision that persists in empower decades later.
