There have been countless fascinating features about visual artists: Martin Parr. Maybe the documentary format truly excels when showcasing exceptionally powerful still images. Now arrives one more remarkable instance, by creator Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the impressive professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, performer and civil rights advocate who represented a unique politico-aesthetic vision.
Together with his brother Elombe, he effectively created the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” in the sixties by capturing the African American women in Harlem: youthful women of color who transformed into the transformative standard for visual appeal, abandoning typical cosmetic products and the established Eurocentric standard of womanhood.
The Impact of a Revolutionary Slogan
Black Is Beautiful became a radical call to action, an brilliant three-word prose poem for progress. Simply stating that people of color possessed beauty emerged as a empowering force in art, social movements and the arts. Brathwaite emerged as part of the civil rights pan-Africanist cause by documenting the sports icon leading up to his legendary Zaire bout in 1974.
He was appointed the exclusive image creator for the band's continental journey, and subsequently became the house photographer for the legendary Apollo theatre, building an extraordinary collection of musical pioneers. Alongside his sibling, he became the central figure behind bringing Nelson Mandela to speak in Harlem.
Personal Journey
The photographer's offspring Kwame Jr recounts the family's mission to achieve proper recognition for his family heritage after he was painfully excluded in the nation's capital's Smithsonian institution, inaugurated by Barack Obama in this century.
This documentary further reveals the inexpressibly painful origin of Brathwaite's passion for photography: the disturbing photographs of the young victim, the adolescent civil rights lynching victim whose grieving mother boldly demanded an uncovered casket so the horrific reality of racial hatred might not be hidden.
From Tragedy to Hope
In this representation of horror, Brathwaite encountered a type of transformative realization that directed him toward visual representations of aspiration. His photographs powerfully conveyed empowering beauty and frequently not overtly political: he developed a new visual language of strength through which social causes could gather.
This represents an exhilarating record of artistic vision that persists in inspire across generations.
