History has seen countless compelling documentaries focusing on image makers: Martin Parr. Perhaps cinematic storytelling particularly shines when displaying remarkably striking still images. Here arrives another outstanding case, by creator Yemi Bamiro, documenting the impressive life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, artist and social justice champion who embodied a special artistic-political perspective.
In partnership with his brother Elombe, he effectively created the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” during the sixties by documenting the African American women in New York: young African American women who emerged as the transformative archetype for aesthetics, rejecting conventional grooming practices and the established Eurocentric standard of femininity.
The Power of a Revolutionary Slogan
Black Is Beautiful became a radical unifying message, an visionary memorable manifesto for transformation. Merely declaring that black people radiated beauty proved to be a liberating power in society, activism and creative expression. The artist became a key figure in the Black power pan-Africanist struggle by capturing images of Muhammad Ali before his iconic Zaire bout in that era.
He became the exclusive visual documentarian for the Jackson 5's African tour, and later assumed the role of the house photographer for the iconic Apollo theatre, assembling an extraordinary archive of musical pioneers. In collaboration with Elombe, he emerged as the driving force behind securing Nelson Mandela to appear in New York.
Historical Recognition
Brathwaite's son his namesake is interviewed the their quest to ensure proper recognition for his family heritage after he was painfully excluded in Washington DC's cultural museum, inaugurated by Barack Obama in 2016.
The film also recounts the inexpressibly painful origin of the artist's passion for visual storytelling: the disturbing pictures of the lynching martyr, the adolescent African American tragic figure whose grieving mother courageously insisted on an public viewing so the brutal truth of racist violence might not be hidden.
Amidst Sorrow to Hope
From this representation of tragedy, the visionary found a form of transformative realization that guided him toward images of community. His work beautifully expressed celebratory strength and typically nuanced in approach: he curated a innovative iconography of pride through which activist groups could gather.
The documentary stands as an inspiring testament of creative genius that continues to inspire through the years.
