History has seen many compelling features highlighting image makers: Tish Murtha. Perhaps cinematic storytelling truly excels when displaying exceptionally powerful still images. Now arrives another remarkable example, from writer-director Yemi Bamiro, documenting the extraordinary life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, artist and African American activist who embodied a distinct politico-aesthetic approach.
Together with his family member Elombe, he pioneered the expression “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the 1960s by photographing the African American women in Harlem: youthful Black women who emerged as the sensational template for visual appeal, abandoning traditional cosmetic products and the usual Eurocentric ideal of femininity.
The Influence of Three Words
This powerful statement became a transformative rallying cry, an inspired three-word prose poem for change. Simply declaring that people of color possessed beauty proved to be a empowering force in society, politics and creative expression. Brathwaite became integral to the Black power pan-Africanist cause by photographing Muhammad Ali prior to his iconic Rumble in the Jungle in the seventies.
He was appointed the official visual documentarian for the Jackson 5's international performances, and later assumed the role of the official visual chronicler for the legendary Harlem venue, building an amazing portfolio of African American artists. Together with his sibling, he emerged as the central figure behind bringing Nelson Mandela to speak in New York.
Historical Recognition
His son Kwame Jr is interviewed the their mission to achieve due acknowledgment for his parent's achievements after he was unjustly overlooked in the nation's capital's National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened by the political leader in 2016.
The film additionally explores the inexpressibly painful inspiration of the photographer's passion for visual storytelling: the horrendous photographs of Emmett Till, the teenage Black tragic figure whose grieving mother defiantly demanded an open coffin so the brutal truth of racist violence would not be concealed.
From Tragedy to Empowerment
From this vision of tragedy, the visionary found a form of transformative realization that led him toward visual representations of aspiration. His photographs powerfully conveyed celebratory strength and typically nuanced in approach: he developed a innovative visual language of pride through which activist groups could gather.
This represents an captivating testament of cultural impact that continues to empower decades later.
