There have been many compelling documentaries highlighting image makers: Martin Parr. It could be cinematic storytelling particularly shines when displaying remarkably striking still images. Here arrives a new outstanding instance, from creator Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the remarkable professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, musician and African American activist who exemplified a special politico-aesthetic vision.
Together with his sibling Elombe, he virtually invented the expression “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the 1960s by photographing the African American women in New York: young African American women who transformed into the groundbreaking template for beauty, rejecting traditional grooming practices and the predominant Caucasian standard of womanhood.
The Influence of Three Words
Black Is Beautiful evolved into a radical unifying message, an inspired concise prose poem for progress. Merely stating that African Americans were beautiful became a liberating influence in society, activism and creative expression. Brathwaite emerged as a key figure in the social justice pan-Africanist cause by capturing images of Muhammad Ali leading up to his legendary Zaire bout in that era.
He became the exclusive photographer for the musical group's continental journey, and later was named the official visual chronicler for the historic Harlem venue, building an amazing portfolio of African American artists. Alongside his brother, he became the driving force behind securing Nelson Mandela to speak in Harlem.
Personal Journey
His son the younger Brathwaite is interviewed the family's quest to ensure appropriate credit for his father's legacy after he was painfully excluded in the prestigious National Museum of African American History and Culture, inaugurated by the political leader in this century.
The feature additionally explores the inexpressibly painful origin of Brathwaite's dedication to visual storytelling: the horrendous images of the lynching martyr, the adolescent civil rights lynching victim whose mourning family member boldly insisted on an open coffin so the brutal truth of racist violence would not be covered up.
Through Darkness to Empowerment
In this vision of violence, the artist encountered a type of profound understanding that led him toward photographs of aspiration. His photographs were eloquent of community pride and typically subtle in messaging: he developed a innovative symbolic representation of empowerment around which social causes could gather.
It is an inspiring testament of creative genius that still inspire decades later.
