We have witnessed many compelling films highlighting image makers: Martin Parr. It could be the film medium particularly shines when displaying exceptionally powerful still images. Now we have a new remarkable example, by writer-director Yemi Bamiro, documenting the impressive professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, artist and African American activist who exemplified a unique politico-aesthetic vision.
Alongside his sibling Elombe, he pioneered the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” in the mid-century era by documenting the Grandassa Models in Harlem: youthful women of color who emerged as the transformative archetype for beauty, moving beyond conventional grooming practices and the usual Eurocentric standard of womanhood.
The Power of a Revolutionary Slogan
This powerful statement transformed into a radical rallying cry, an inspired memorable declaration for transformation. Merely to assert that people of color were beautiful emerged as a empowering power in art, social movements and creative expression. The photographer emerged as part of the Black power African diaspora struggle by documenting Muhammad Ali leading up to his historic Zaire bout in the seventies.
He was appointed the official visual documentarian for the band's international performances, and subsequently assumed the role of the resident artist for the historic Apollo theatre, assembling an amazing collection of musical pioneers. Together with Elombe, he emerged as the central figure behind arranging for the anti-apartheid icon to address the public in New York.
Personal Journey
Brathwaite's son the younger Brathwaite is interviewed the their mission to achieve due acknowledgment for his father's legacy after he was painfully excluded in Washington DC's National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened by Barack Obama in 2016.
The feature further reveals the profoundly sorrowful inspiration of the artist's passion for photography: the horrendous photographs of Emmett Till, the young civil rights lynching victim whose mourning family member defiantly demanded an open coffin so the horrific reality of racist violence might not be covered up.
From Tragedy to Hope
In this representation of violence, Brathwaite encountered a kind of transformative realization that led him toward photographs of aspiration. His photographs powerfully conveyed celebratory strength and typically not overtly political: he developed a fresh iconography of empowerment around which political movements could gather.
This represents an inspiring record of creative genius that continues to inspire decades later.
