We have witnessed many compelling films highlighting visual artists: Vivian Maier. It could be the documentary format naturally comes alive when showcasing exceptionally powerful visual compositions. Here arrives one more exceptional instance, from writer-director Yemi Bamiro, exploring the extraordinary professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, performer and civil rights advocate who exemplified a unique politico-aesthetic vision.
Together with his sibling Elombe, he virtually invented the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” in the 1960s by photographing the Grandassa Models in Harlem: young African American women who transformed into the transformative standard for beauty, rejecting conventional beauty standards and the usual Eurocentric model of womanhood.
The Power of a Revolutionary Slogan
This powerful statement evolved into a transformative call to action, an inspired concise declaration for progress. Simply stating that black people possessed beauty became a empowering force in society, social movements and creative expression. Brathwaite grew into a key figure in the civil rights global Black cause by photographing Muhammad Ali prior to his historic Zaire bout in the seventies.
He served as the primary photographer for the musical group's continental journey, and subsequently was named the official visual chronicler for the historic Apollo theatre, building an extraordinary collection of musical pioneers. In collaboration with his brother, he emerged as the key organizer behind securing Nelson Mandela to appear in New York.
Personal Journey
The photographer's offspring the younger Brathwaite shares the family's quest to secure due acknowledgment for his family heritage after he was unjustly excluded in the prestigious cultural museum, inaugurated by Barack Obama in this century.
This documentary also recounts the deeply tragic genesis of the artist's dedication to visual storytelling: the horrendous images of Emmett Till, the young civil rights lynching victim whose mourning family member boldly insisted on an open coffin so the brutal truth of racial hatred might not be covered up.
From Tragedy to Empowerment
From this representation of horror, the visionary encountered a kind of profound understanding that directed him toward photographs of beauty. His photographs powerfully conveyed empowering beauty and typically nuanced in approach: he developed a fresh visual language of strength around which political movements could unite.
This represents an inspiring record of creative genius that continues to resonate decades later.
