We have witnessed numerous compelling features focusing on image makers: Vivian Maier. It could be the documentary format naturally comes alive when showcasing particularly vivid photographs. Today comes a new exceptional case, from creator Yemi Bamiro, exploring the remarkable life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, artist and African American activist who represented a unique cultural-activist vision.
Alongside his family member Elombe, he virtually invented the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” during the sixties by capturing the Grandassa Models in New York: youthful African American women who became the transformative template for aesthetics, abandoning typical cosmetic products and the usual Eurocentric standard of female beauty.
The Influence of a Simple Phrase
This powerful statement transformed into a radical unifying message, an inspired three-word manifesto for transformation. Simply declaring that black people radiated beauty emerged as a liberating force in society, politics and culture. Brathwaite grew into integral to the social justice African diaspora struggle by photographing the sports icon prior to his legendary Rumble in the Jungle in that era.
He became the official photographer for the Jackson 5's continental journey, and subsequently became the resident artist for the historic Harlem venue, building an incredible collection of black musicians. In collaboration with Elombe, he emerged as the driving force behind arranging for the South African leader to address the public in New York.
Personal Journey
The photographer's offspring his namesake is interviewed the family's mission to achieve due acknowledgment for his father's legacy after he was painfully excluded in the nation's capital's cultural museum, opened by the former president in this century.
The film also recounts the deeply tragic inspiration of Brathwaite's passion for image making: the horrendous photographs of Emmett Till, the young African American lynching victim whose grieving mother boldly requested an open coffin so the brutal truth of racist violence could not be concealed.
From Tragedy to Hope
In this image of horror, the visionary found a type of anti-epiphany that directed him toward visual representations of aspiration. His photographs were eloquent of empowering beauty and frequently not overtly political: he curated a innovative visual language of empowerment around which social causes could gather.
It is an inspiring testament of cultural impact that continues to inspire across generations.
