History has seen numerous compelling documentaries focusing on visual artists: Vivian Maier. Maybe the documentary format naturally comes alive when presenting exceptionally powerful visual compositions. Here comes another exceptional instance, from creator Yemi Bamiro, documenting the extraordinary life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, musician and African American activist who embodied a special cultural-activist vision.
Alongside his brother Elombe, he pioneered the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” in the sixties by capturing the African American women in New York: young Black women who transformed into the transformative archetype for aesthetics, rejecting conventional beauty standards and the predominant Eurocentric model of femininity.
The Power of Three Words
Black Is Beautiful evolved into a powerful unifying message, an visionary memorable declaration for change. Just declaring that people of color were beautiful emerged as a transformative force in art, politics and culture. The artist emerged as part of the civil rights pan-Africanist cause by photographing the legendary boxer prior to his legendary Rumble in the Jungle in the seventies.
He became the exclusive photographer for the band's international performances, and eventually became the resident artist for the historic cultural institution, assembling an extraordinary collection of African American artists. Alongside Elombe, he emerged as the driving force behind securing Nelson Mandela to appear in Harlem.
Historical Recognition
Brathwaite's son his namesake shares the their quest to achieve appropriate credit for his family heritage after he was painfully ignored in Washington DC's National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened by the former president in this century.
The feature also recounts the profoundly sorrowful inspiration of Brathwaite's interest in image making: the horrendous images of the young victim, the teenage African American murder victim whose grieving mother courageously requested an uncovered casket so the horrific reality of bigoted brutality might not be covered up.
Amidst Sorrow to Empowerment
In this representation of violence, the artist found a type of anti-epiphany that guided him toward photographs of community. His images beautifully expressed empowering beauty and frequently nuanced in approach: he developed a new iconography of pride upon which activist groups could mobilize.
The documentary stands as an captivating chronicle of creative genius that continues to inspire across generations.
