There have been countless engaging films highlighting image makers: Tish Murtha. Maybe the film medium truly excels when displaying exceptionally powerful visual compositions. Now arrives another exceptional example, by creator Yemi Bamiro, documenting the impressive career of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, musician and African American activist who represented a distinct artistic-political vision.
In partnership with his family member Elombe, he effectively created the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” in the 1960s by photographing the Grandassa Models in the cultural epicenter: youthful Black women who emerged as the sensational template for visual appeal, moving beyond typical grooming practices and the usual Eurocentric model of female beauty.
The Influence of a Revolutionary Slogan
Black Is Beautiful became a transformative call to action, an inspired three-word declaration for progress. Just to assert that black people radiated beauty emerged as a liberating power in art, politics and culture. The photographer became part of the social justice African diaspora cause by documenting the legendary boxer leading up to his historic Zaire bout in the seventies.
He became the primary visual documentarian for the band's African tour, and eventually assumed the role of the official visual chronicler for the legendary cultural institution, building an incredible collection of African American artists. In collaboration with his brother, he became the central figure behind securing the South African leader to speak in the community.
Historical Recognition
Brathwaite's son the younger Brathwaite recounts the family's quest to ensure due acknowledgment for his parent's achievements after he was painfully overlooked in the nation's capital's Smithsonian institution, inaugurated by Barack Obama in recent years.
This documentary also recounts the deeply tragic origin of the artist's passion for image making: the shocking pictures of the young victim, the young African American murder victim whose mourning family member defiantly insisted on an open coffin so the brutal truth of bigoted brutality might not be concealed.
From Tragedy to Empowerment
Through this image of violence, the visionary discovered a form of profound understanding that directed him toward visual representations of aspiration. His photographs were eloquent of celebratory strength and often not overtly political: he developed a new symbolic representation of strength upon which social causes could mobilize.
The documentary stands as an captivating record of artistic vision that persists in resonate through the years.
