History has seen countless fascinating documentaries focusing on photographers: Tish Murtha. It could be the documentary format particularly shines when presenting particularly vivid photographs. Today we have one more exceptional example, directed by writer-director Yemi Bamiro, exploring the remarkable professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, musician and civil rights advocate who exemplified a distinct politico-aesthetic vision.
Together with his family member Elombe, he pioneered the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the sixties by photographing the Grandassa Models in Harlem: youthful Black women who became the sensational standard for beauty, rejecting typical cosmetic products and the established white ideal of female beauty.
The Impact of a Revolutionary Slogan
Black Is Beautiful evolved into a transformative call to action, an brilliant concise declaration for change. Just stating that people of color were beautiful proved to be a liberating power in society, social movements and culture. The photographer emerged as part of the civil rights African diaspora struggle by capturing images of Muhammad Ali before his historic championship fight in 1974.
He became the exclusive visual documentarian for the musical group's African tour, and later was named the resident artist for the legendary Harlem venue, creating an incredible archive of African American artists. In collaboration with his brother, he became the central figure behind arranging for the South African leader to address the public in New York.
Historical Recognition
His son his namesake recounts the family's quest to achieve appropriate credit for his father's legacy after he was hurtfully excluded in the nation's capital's National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened by the former president in 2016.
The film additionally explores the profoundly sorrowful inspiration of the photographer's interest in image making: the disturbing images of Emmett Till, the adolescent Black tragic figure whose grieving mother boldly demanded an open coffin so the horrific reality of bigoted brutality could not be hidden.
Amidst Sorrow to Empowerment
From this image of tragedy, the artist found a kind of anti-epiphany that guided him toward photographs of beauty. His photographs were eloquent of empowering beauty and often not overtly political: he developed a innovative visual language of pride through which political movements could mobilize.
It is an captivating record of artistic vision that continues to inspire decades later.