The Power of Black Beauty: A Revealing Story of Trailblazing Artist Kwame Brathwaite
We have witnessed countless engaging films focusing on photographers: Martin Parr. Perhaps the film medium truly excels when presenting particularly vivid still images. Here arrives a new exceptional case, from writer-director Yemi Bamiro, exploring the remarkable life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, musician and social justice champion who exemplified a special cultural-activist vision.
In partnership with his brother Elombe, he virtually invented the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the mid-century era by capturing the Grandassa Models in Harlem: emerging Black women who became the groundbreaking archetype for beauty, rejecting typical grooming practices and the usual white standard of femininity.
The Influence of a Simple Phrase
This powerful statement became a transformative call to action, an brilliant three-word declaration for change. Simply to assert that people of color radiated beauty became a transformative force in society, politics and the arts. The photographer grew into integral to the Black power pan-Africanist movement by photographing the sports icon prior to his iconic Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.
He was appointed the exclusive photographer for the band's African tour, and later became the resident artist for the iconic cultural institution, creating an incredible portfolio of black musicians. Together with Elombe, he was the central figure behind arranging for the South African leader to speak in the community.
Historical Recognition
The photographer's offspring the younger Brathwaite recounts the their mission to secure appropriate credit for his father's legacy after he was painfully overlooked in the prestigious National Museum of African American History and Culture, inaugurated by the former president in 2016.
The feature also recounts the deeply tragic origin of Brathwaite's passion for image making: the shocking photographs of the young victim, the teenage Black lynching victim whose mourning family member boldly requested an public viewing so the violent nature of racial hatred might not be concealed.
From Tragedy to Beauty
In this image of violence, Brathwaite found a type of anti-epiphany that directed him toward images of community. His images were eloquent of empowering beauty and frequently subtle in messaging: he curated a fresh visual language of pride through which social causes could mobilize.
It is an exhilarating testament of artistic vision that still inspire decades later.
