We have witnessed numerous engaging documentaries highlighting image makers: Vivian Maier. Perhaps the film medium truly excels when displaying particularly vivid photographs. Today arrives another outstanding example, directed by creator Yemi Bamiro, documenting the impressive professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, artist and social justice champion who embodied a special artistic-political vision.
In partnership with his family member Elombe, he virtually invented the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the 1960s by photographing the African American women in the cultural epicenter: youthful women of color who became the transformative standard for visual appeal, moving beyond typical grooming practices and the usual Caucasian model of femininity.
The Power of a Simple Phrase
The iconic phrase transformed into a transformative rallying cry, an visionary concise manifesto for progress. Merely stating that black people were beautiful proved to be a transformative power in art, politics and culture. Brathwaite became integral to the social justice African diaspora struggle by documenting the sports icon before his legendary Zaire bout in the seventies.
He was appointed the primary visual documentarian for the Jackson 5's African tour, and eventually assumed the role of the official visual chronicler for the iconic Harlem venue, assembling an extraordinary portfolio of musical pioneers. In collaboration with his sibling, he emerged as the central figure behind arranging for the South African leader to appear in the community.
Historical Recognition
Brathwaite's son the younger Brathwaite is interviewed the family's quest to ensure appropriate credit for his family heritage after he was painfully ignored in Washington DC's cultural museum, established by the former president in this century.
The film also recounts the deeply tragic genesis of the artist's dedication to photography: the horrendous images of the young victim, the adolescent civil rights lynching victim whose mourning family member courageously insisted on an open coffin so the brutal truth of racial hatred would not be hidden.
Through Darkness to Hope
Through this representation of horror, the visionary discovered a form of transformative realization that led him toward visual representations of aspiration. His photographs powerfully conveyed community pride and often nuanced in approach: he established a new symbolic representation of strength upon which activist groups could unite.
This represents an captivating testament of cultural impact that continues to inspire across generations.