The Beauty of Blackness: A Inspiring Tale of Game-Changing Artist Kwame Brathwaite

We have witnessed many fascinating films highlighting photographers: Martin Parr. It could be cinematic storytelling truly excels when displaying particularly vivid still images. Here we have one more outstanding case, by filmmaker Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the extraordinary professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, performer and African American activist who represented a unique politico-aesthetic vision.

Together with his sibling Elombe, he virtually invented the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” during the mid-century era by capturing the Harlem models in New York: youthful women of color who emerged as the transformative archetype for beauty, moving beyond traditional beauty standards and the predominant white ideal of femininity.

The Power of a Simple Phrase

Black Is Beautiful evolved into a powerful call to action, an inspired concise prose poem for change. Merely to assert that people of color possessed beauty became a liberating influence in society, activism and culture. The photographer became a key figure in the civil rights African diaspora cause by documenting Muhammad Ali leading up to his historic Zaire bout in that era.

He served as the exclusive photographer for the band's international performances, and subsequently was named the house photographer for the historic cultural institution, assembling an amazing portfolio of musical pioneers. In collaboration with his brother, he emerged as the central figure behind securing Nelson Mandela to address the public in New York.

Personal Journey

Brathwaite's son his namesake recounts the personal mission to achieve proper recognition for his father's legacy after he was hurtfully ignored in the nation's capital's National Museum of African American History and Culture, established by Barack Obama in this century.

The feature further reveals the profoundly sorrowful genesis of the photographer's passion for photography: the horrendous pictures of the young victim, the teenage Black lynching victim whose grieving mother defiantly requested an uncovered casket so the violent nature of racial hatred could not be concealed.

Through Darkness to Hope

From this image of violence, the artist found a kind of anti-epiphany that led him toward photographs of community. His photographs were eloquent of community pride and typically nuanced in approach: he developed a fresh iconography of empowerment upon which political movements could mobilize.

This represents an inspiring record of cultural impact that persists in resonate across generations.