History has seen numerous fascinating features highlighting image makers: Vivian Maier. Perhaps cinematic storytelling particularly shines when showcasing particularly vivid still images. Today we have another outstanding instance, from filmmaker Yemi Bamiro, exploring the impressive life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, artist and social justice champion who represented a distinct artistic-political vision.
Together with his brother Elombe, he effectively created the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” in the mid-century era by documenting the Grandassa Models in Harlem: youthful Black women who transformed into the transformative standard for beauty, rejecting typical cosmetic products and the established Caucasian standard of female beauty.
The Power of a Simple Phrase
The iconic phrase evolved into a radical call to action, an brilliant memorable declaration for change. Merely declaring that African Americans possessed beauty became a empowering power in society, politics and culture. The photographer emerged as integral to the social justice pan-Africanist movement by documenting Muhammad Ali prior to his iconic Rumble in the Jungle in the seventies.
He became the primary visual documentarian for the Jackson 5's African tour, and subsequently assumed the role of the official visual chronicler for the legendary cultural institution, assembling an extraordinary archive of African American artists. In collaboration with his sibling, he emerged as the driving force behind securing the South African leader to address the public in Harlem.
Personal Journey
His son the younger Brathwaite recounts the personal quest to secure due acknowledgment for his parent's achievements after he was unjustly ignored in the prestigious Smithsonian institution, opened by the political leader in 2016.
The feature also recounts the profoundly sorrowful origin of the photographer's passion for photography: the horrendous images of the young victim, the teenage Black murder victim whose bereaved parent courageously requested an open coffin so the violent nature of bigoted brutality might not be hidden.
Amidst Sorrow to Beauty
In this vision of horror, the visionary discovered a form of profound understanding that led him toward visual representations of beauty. His photographs powerfully conveyed community pride and often not overtly political: he developed a new symbolic representation of empowerment through which political movements could unite.
The documentary stands as an exhilarating chronicle of artistic vision that continues to resonate across generations.
