We have witnessed many engaging documentaries about image makers: Vivian Maier. Maybe the film medium truly excels when displaying remarkably striking visual compositions. Today arrives one more exceptional instance, from writer-director Yemi Bamiro, exploring the impressive life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, performer and African American activist who embodied a unique cultural-activist approach.
In partnership with his sibling Elombe, he pioneered the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” during the sixties by capturing the Harlem models in New York: youthful African American women who transformed into the transformative standard for visual appeal, rejecting conventional cosmetic products and the predominant white model of femininity.
The Impact of a Simple Phrase
The iconic phrase transformed into a radical rallying cry, an inspired memorable prose poem for progress. Just declaring that people of color possessed beauty emerged as a liberating power in art, social movements and culture. Brathwaite grew into a key figure in the civil rights global Black cause by photographing Muhammad Ali before his legendary Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.
He became the primary image creator for the band's African tour, and subsequently was named the resident artist for the legendary Harlem venue, creating an incredible collection of musical pioneers. Together with his brother, he became the key organizer behind securing the anti-apartheid icon to speak in the community.
Historical Recognition
The photographer's offspring the younger Brathwaite recounts the personal campaign to secure proper recognition for his father's legacy after he was unjustly overlooked in the nation's capital's National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened by the former president in 2016.
This documentary further reveals the inexpressibly painful inspiration of the artist's interest in photography: the disturbing pictures of the young victim, the young civil rights lynching victim whose grieving mother courageously requested an open coffin so the horrific reality of racist violence could not be covered up.
Amidst Sorrow to Empowerment
In this image of tragedy, the artist encountered a form of profound understanding that led him toward images of aspiration. His photographs powerfully conveyed celebratory strength and typically subtle in messaging: he established a new symbolic representation of pride through which social causes could unite.
This represents an inspiring record of creative genius that still inspire decades later.
