There have been many engaging films about photographers: Tish Murtha. Maybe cinematic storytelling naturally comes alive when displaying particularly vivid photographs. Now we have one more exceptional example, by creator Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the extraordinary life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, artist and African American activist who exemplified a special politico-aesthetic vision.
Together with his sibling Elombe, he pioneered the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the sixties by capturing the African American women in the cultural epicenter: young African American women who transformed into the transformative standard for visual appeal, moving beyond typical beauty standards and the usual Eurocentric model of female beauty.
The Power of a Revolutionary Slogan
The iconic phrase became a radical rallying cry, an brilliant three-word prose poem for progress. Merely declaring that people of color radiated beauty emerged as a empowering power in culture, activism and culture. The photographer emerged as a key figure in the civil rights African diaspora movement by documenting the sports icon leading up to his legendary Rumble in the Jungle in that era.
He was appointed the official photographer for the musical group's African tour, and later was named the resident artist for the iconic Apollo theatre, building an incredible portfolio of African American artists. Together with Elombe, he became the key organizer behind arranging for the anti-apartheid icon to appear in Harlem.
Family Legacy
The photographer's offspring his namesake shares the personal quest to ensure appropriate credit for his parent's achievements after he was unjustly ignored in the nation's capital's Smithsonian institution, opened by the former president in this century.
The film also recounts the deeply tragic origin of the photographer's interest in image making: the shocking pictures of the young victim, the adolescent Black murder victim whose grieving mother defiantly requested an open coffin so the violent nature of racist violence could not be covered up.
Amidst Sorrow to Beauty
Through this vision of tragedy, Brathwaite encountered a type of anti-epiphany that led him toward images of aspiration. His images beautifully expressed celebratory strength and frequently not overtly political: he curated a innovative iconography of pride through which political movements could mobilize.
The documentary stands as an exhilarating chronicle of cultural impact that persists in resonate decades later.
