There have been numerous compelling documentaries about image makers: Tish Murtha. Maybe the film medium particularly shines when displaying particularly vivid still images. Now arrives another outstanding instance, from writer-director Yemi Bamiro, documenting the remarkable career of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, performer and civil rights advocate who represented a special politico-aesthetic perspective.
Together with his family member Elombe, he pioneered the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” in the mid-century era by documenting the African American women in New York: young African American women who emerged as the sensational template for aesthetics, moving beyond traditional grooming practices and the predominant Eurocentric standard of womanhood.
The Power of Three Words
The iconic phrase evolved into a radical call to action, an inspired concise prose poem for progress. Merely stating that black people were beautiful proved to be a empowering force in society, social movements and creative expression. Brathwaite grew into part of the civil rights global Black movement by documenting the legendary boxer prior to his historic championship fight in 1974.
He became the primary image creator for the Jackson 5's continental journey, and eventually became the house photographer for the historic cultural institution, creating an extraordinary portfolio of black musicians. Together with his sibling, he was the key organizer behind securing the South African leader to address the public in the community.
Personal Journey
His son the younger Brathwaite recounts the personal quest to secure proper recognition for his father's legacy after he was painfully overlooked in the nation's capital's National Museum of African American History and Culture, established by the former president in recent years.
This documentary further reveals the inexpressibly painful origin of the artist's passion for visual storytelling: the horrendous pictures of Emmett Till, the young civil rights lynching victim whose bereaved parent defiantly requested an open coffin so the brutal truth of racist violence could not be covered up.
Through Darkness to Beauty
In this vision of horror, the visionary discovered a kind of transformative realization that directed him toward photographs of community. His work powerfully conveyed celebratory strength and often nuanced in approach: he established a innovative visual language of pride around which social causes could gather.
It is an exhilarating record of creative genius that continues to empower through the years.
