We have witnessed countless compelling films highlighting image makers: Martin Parr. Perhaps the film medium truly excels when displaying particularly vivid visual compositions. Today we have another remarkable instance, from writer-director Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the extraordinary career of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, performer and African American activist who exemplified a unique politico-aesthetic approach.
In partnership with his family member Elombe, he effectively created the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” in the sixties by capturing the Harlem models in Harlem: emerging women of color who became the sensational archetype for beauty, abandoning typical beauty standards and the established Eurocentric standard of womanhood.
The Power of Three Words
This powerful statement evolved into a radical rallying cry, an inspired three-word declaration for progress. Just declaring that African Americans possessed beauty proved to be a liberating influence in culture, activism and creative expression. Brathwaite grew into integral to the civil rights pan-Africanist cause by photographing Muhammad Ali leading up to his legendary championship fight in the seventies.
He became the primary visual documentarian for the Jackson 5's continental journey, and eventually was named the resident artist for the iconic cultural institution, assembling an extraordinary portfolio of black musicians. In collaboration with Elombe, he became the driving force behind arranging for the anti-apartheid icon to address the public in Harlem.
Personal Journey
Brathwaite's son the younger Brathwaite shares the their quest to achieve proper recognition for his family heritage after he was painfully overlooked in the nation's capital's Smithsonian institution, inaugurated by the former president in this century.
The film additionally explores the profoundly sorrowful inspiration of Brathwaite's passion for photography: the shocking photographs of Emmett Till, the young African American murder victim whose bereaved parent boldly insisted on an uncovered casket so the brutal truth of racial hatred could not be concealed.
Through Darkness to Empowerment
From this vision of tragedy, Brathwaite encountered a type of profound understanding that led him toward visual representations of community. His work were eloquent of community pride and typically not overtly political: he curated a fresh visual language of strength upon which social causes could mobilize.
It is an captivating record of creative genius that continues to resonate through the years.
