The Beauty of Blackness: The Revealing Journey of Revolutionary Artist Kwame Brathwaite

We have witnessed numerous compelling features about visual artists: Martin Parr. Perhaps cinematic storytelling truly excels when displaying exceptionally powerful still images. Here comes a new exceptional case, from creator Yemi Bamiro, exploring the impressive career of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, musician and African American activist who represented a distinct artistic-political vision.

Alongside his family member Elombe, he virtually invented the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” in the mid-century era by capturing the African American women in New York: young women of color who transformed into the transformative standard for visual appeal, abandoning conventional grooming practices and the usual Caucasian model of womanhood.

The Impact of a Simple Phrase

Black Is Beautiful transformed into a powerful call to action, an visionary memorable prose poem for transformation. Simply to assert that African Americans radiated beauty emerged as a transformative influence in art, activism and the arts. The artist emerged as part of the civil rights African diaspora cause by documenting the legendary boxer prior to his iconic Zaire bout in that era.

He served as the official photographer for the musical group's African tour, and eventually became the official visual chronicler for the legendary Harlem venue, building an amazing collection of African American artists. Together with his sibling, he emerged as the driving force behind arranging for Nelson Mandela to speak in Harlem.

Historical Recognition

Brathwaite's son Kwame Jr recounts the personal quest to secure proper recognition for his family heritage after he was painfully excluded in Washington DC's cultural museum, opened by the political leader in recent years.

The film further reveals the deeply tragic inspiration of the photographer's passion for photography: the disturbing photographs of Emmett Till, the teenage civil rights tragic figure whose grieving mother boldly demanded an public viewing so the brutal truth of bigoted brutality might not be covered up.

From Tragedy to Beauty

From this vision of violence, Brathwaite found a type of profound understanding that led him toward images of community. His photographs powerfully conveyed empowering beauty and often nuanced in approach: he developed a fresh iconography of empowerment upon which political movements could gather.

It is an exhilarating testament of creative genius that persists in resonate across generations.