We have witnessed countless fascinating features focusing on photographers: Tish Murtha. Maybe the documentary format particularly shines when showcasing particularly vivid still images. Here arrives a new remarkable instance, by creator Yemi Bamiro, exploring the extraordinary career of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, musician and African American activist who embodied a special cultural-activist approach.
In partnership with his brother Elombe, he pioneered the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the sixties by photographing the Harlem models in Harlem: youthful women of color who transformed into the groundbreaking template for beauty, moving beyond conventional cosmetic products and the usual Eurocentric ideal of femininity.
The Influence of a Revolutionary Slogan
Black Is Beautiful became a radical rallying cry, an visionary concise prose poem for transformation. Just to assert that African Americans possessed beauty became a liberating force in culture, activism and culture. Brathwaite emerged as part of the social justice pan-Africanist movement by photographing Muhammad Ali leading up to his historic Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.
He served as the primary visual documentarian for the Jackson 5's African tour, and eventually was named the official visual chronicler for the iconic cultural institution, creating an extraordinary collection of African American artists. In collaboration with his sibling, he became the key organizer behind bringing the South African leader to speak in New York.
Historical Recognition
Brathwaite's son the younger Brathwaite is interviewed the family's campaign to secure proper recognition for his father's legacy after he was hurtfully overlooked in Washington DC's Smithsonian institution, opened by the political leader in recent years.
The feature further reveals the profoundly sorrowful origin of the photographer's interest in visual storytelling: the horrendous photographs of the young victim, the teenage Black lynching victim whose bereaved parent courageously insisted on an open coffin so the violent nature of racial hatred could not be covered up.
From Tragedy to Hope
In this vision of violence, the visionary discovered a type of anti-epiphany that directed him toward images of beauty. His work powerfully conveyed celebratory strength and typically subtle in messaging: he curated a new symbolic representation of empowerment upon which social causes could mobilize.
This represents an inspiring testament of artistic vision that persists in resonate across generations.
