There have been countless fascinating films highlighting visual artists: Tish Murtha. It could be the documentary format naturally comes alive when showcasing particularly vivid visual compositions. Here arrives another exceptional example, by writer-director Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the extraordinary professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, musician and African American activist who exemplified a unique artistic-political vision.
Together with his family member Elombe, he effectively created the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” during the sixties by photographing the Harlem models in the cultural epicenter: young Black women who emerged as the sensational template for beauty, rejecting conventional beauty standards and the usual white model of female beauty.
The Impact of a Simple Phrase
Black Is Beautiful became a transformative unifying message, an visionary three-word manifesto for transformation. Merely stating that people of color radiated beauty emerged as a liberating power in culture, politics and culture. The artist emerged as integral to the social justice global Black struggle by photographing Muhammad Ali before his iconic Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.
He served as the official photographer for the Jackson 5's African tour, and subsequently was named the official visual chronicler for the historic cultural institution, creating an incredible portfolio of African American artists. In collaboration with his sibling, he emerged as the key organizer behind bringing the South African leader to appear in New York.
Family Legacy
His son the younger Brathwaite recounts the their mission to achieve appropriate credit for his father's legacy after he was painfully overlooked in the nation's capital's Smithsonian institution, inaugurated by the former president in this century.
The film also recounts the profoundly sorrowful inspiration of the photographer's dedication to photography: the horrendous pictures of the young victim, the teenage Black tragic figure whose mourning family member defiantly requested an public viewing so the violent nature of racial hatred would not be covered up.
Amidst Sorrow to Hope
Through this representation of tragedy, the artist discovered a kind of profound understanding that led him toward photographs of beauty. His photographs beautifully expressed empowering beauty and often subtle in messaging: he established a new symbolic representation of strength through which social causes could gather.
This represents an exhilarating record of cultural impact that continues to empower across generations.
