We have witnessed many fascinating features highlighting photographers: Tish Murtha. Perhaps cinematic storytelling naturally comes alive when presenting remarkably striking visual compositions. Now arrives a new outstanding instance, from filmmaker Yemi Bamiro, documenting the remarkable life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, artist and social justice champion who embodied a distinct cultural-activist vision.
In partnership with his family member Elombe, he effectively created the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” throughout the sixties by capturing the Harlem models in Harlem: emerging women of color who became the groundbreaking archetype for beauty, rejecting conventional cosmetic products and the established Eurocentric ideal of womanhood.
The Impact of Three Words
This powerful statement became a powerful unifying message, an brilliant memorable declaration for change. Merely declaring that African Americans possessed beauty emerged as a transformative force in culture, activism and the arts. The artist grew into a key figure in the social justice African diaspora struggle by capturing images of the legendary boxer prior to his legendary championship fight in the seventies.
He became the official visual documentarian for the musical group's international performances, and subsequently assumed the role of the house photographer for the legendary Apollo theatre, creating an extraordinary collection of black musicians. In collaboration with his brother, he became the driving force behind arranging for the South African leader to speak in Harlem.
Family Legacy
The photographer's offspring Kwame Jr recounts the personal campaign to ensure appropriate credit for his father's legacy after he was hurtfully excluded in the prestigious cultural museum, established by the former president in this century.
The film also recounts the inexpressibly painful origin of the photographer's passion for image making: the shocking images of the young victim, the young Black lynching victim whose grieving mother defiantly insisted on an uncovered casket so the horrific reality of bigoted brutality might not be hidden.
Amidst Sorrow to Empowerment
In this vision of tragedy, the visionary encountered a kind of transformative realization that directed him toward photographs of aspiration. His photographs powerfully conveyed empowering beauty and frequently subtle in messaging: he curated a fresh iconography of empowerment around which social causes could mobilize.
It is an exhilarating testament of artistic vision that continues to inspire through the years.
