We have witnessed countless engaging films about visual artists: Vivian Maier. Perhaps the documentary format naturally comes alive when showcasing particularly vivid visual compositions. Today we have a new outstanding case, from filmmaker Yemi Bamiro, exploring the extraordinary professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, musician and social justice champion who embodied a special politico-aesthetic vision.
In partnership with his family member Elombe, he effectively created the expression “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the sixties by documenting the Harlem models in the cultural epicenter: young Black women who became the groundbreaking template for aesthetics, rejecting typical grooming practices and the predominant Caucasian ideal of femininity.
The Impact of a Revolutionary Slogan
Black Is Beautiful transformed into a radical unifying message, an inspired three-word prose poem for change. Simply declaring that African Americans radiated beauty became a liberating power in society, politics and creative expression. The photographer grew into integral to the social justice pan-Africanist movement by photographing the sports icon prior to his historic championship fight in that era.
He served as the official image creator for the Jackson 5's continental journey, and later assumed the role of the house photographer for the historic cultural institution, assembling an incredible portfolio of musical pioneers. Together with Elombe, he became the driving force behind securing the South African leader to address the public in Harlem.
Personal Journey
The photographer's offspring the younger Brathwaite recounts the their quest to ensure appropriate credit for his family heritage after he was hurtfully excluded in the nation's capital's cultural museum, established by the former president in this century.
The feature further reveals the inexpressibly painful genesis of the artist's interest in photography: the shocking images of the young victim, the teenage Black lynching victim whose grieving mother boldly insisted on an open coffin so the horrific reality of bigoted brutality could not be hidden.
Amidst Sorrow to Empowerment
From this image of tragedy, the visionary discovered a type of transformative realization that led him toward photographs of beauty. His photographs powerfully conveyed celebratory strength and frequently subtle in messaging: he curated a new symbolic representation of strength upon which activist groups could mobilize.
The documentary stands as an captivating testament of artistic vision that continues to empower through the years.
