We have witnessed numerous engaging documentaries highlighting photographers: Martin Parr. Maybe the documentary format naturally comes alive when presenting exceptionally powerful photographs. Today we have one more outstanding example, by filmmaker Yemi Bamiro, documenting the extraordinary life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, artist and civil rights advocate who represented a special cultural-activist approach.
Alongside his family member Elombe, he virtually invented the expression “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the 1960s by capturing the Grandassa Models in New York: young African American women who became the groundbreaking standard for visual appeal, abandoning typical beauty standards and the established Caucasian model of femininity.
The Power of Three Words
This powerful statement evolved into a powerful call to action, an inspired three-word declaration for change. Merely to assert that black people possessed beauty proved to be a liberating force in culture, social movements and culture. The photographer emerged as part of the Black power pan-Africanist cause by photographing the sports icon before his iconic Zaire bout in the seventies.
He became the primary visual documentarian for the musical group's continental journey, and subsequently was named the house photographer for the historic Harlem venue, creating an incredible archive of black musicians. Together with Elombe, he became the central figure behind bringing the South African leader to appear in New York.
Historical Recognition
Brathwaite's son Kwame Jr shares the personal mission to ensure proper recognition for his father's legacy after he was hurtfully excluded in the prestigious Smithsonian institution, inaugurated by the former president in 2016.
The film additionally explores the deeply tragic inspiration of Brathwaite's dedication to photography: the disturbing images of the young victim, the teenage Black murder victim whose bereaved parent defiantly demanded an open coffin so the violent nature of racial hatred would not be covered up.
From Tragedy to Hope
Through this image of tragedy, Brathwaite encountered a type of anti-epiphany that guided him toward visual representations of beauty. His photographs were eloquent of celebratory strength and typically subtle in messaging: he established a new symbolic representation of strength around which activist groups could mobilize.
This represents an captivating record of creative genius that still empower through the years.
