There have been numerous compelling documentaries about image makers: Tish Murtha. Perhaps the film medium naturally comes alive when displaying exceptionally powerful visual compositions. Here comes one more exceptional instance, by filmmaker Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the remarkable life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, artist and social justice champion who represented a unique cultural-activist vision.
In partnership with his sibling Elombe, he pioneered the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” during the 1960s by documenting the Harlem models in New York: young women of color who became the groundbreaking standard for beauty, abandoning traditional beauty standards and the predominant Caucasian ideal of female beauty.
The Influence of Three Words
Black Is Beautiful became a transformative unifying message, an visionary concise declaration for progress. Merely to assert that black people radiated beauty emerged as a transformative force in art, social movements and the arts. Brathwaite emerged as integral to the Black power global Black movement by photographing Muhammad Ali prior to his historic championship fight in that era.
He served as the exclusive image creator for the musical group's African tour, and eventually was named the house photographer for the legendary cultural institution, building an incredible portfolio of musical pioneers. In collaboration with his sibling, he was the central figure behind securing the anti-apartheid icon to speak in the community.
Family Legacy
Brathwaite's son the younger Brathwaite recounts the personal campaign to ensure due acknowledgment for his family heritage after he was painfully ignored in the nation's capital's National Museum of African American History and Culture, inaugurated by the political leader in this century.
This documentary also recounts the deeply tragic origin of the artist's passion for photography: the horrendous photographs of Emmett Till, the teenage Black murder victim whose grieving mother defiantly demanded an uncovered casket so the violent nature of bigoted brutality might not be covered up.
From Tragedy to Empowerment
From this representation of violence, Brathwaite discovered a form of anti-epiphany that guided him toward images of aspiration. His work were eloquent of community pride and often nuanced in approach: he established a fresh visual language of strength around which social causes could gather.
The documentary stands as an captivating testament of cultural impact that still resonate decades later.
