We have witnessed countless engaging features focusing on photographers: Martin Parr. Perhaps the documentary format particularly shines when showcasing remarkably striking still images. Here we have one more outstanding example, from creator Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the remarkable career of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, artist and African American activist who exemplified a unique artistic-political approach.
In partnership with his brother Elombe, he effectively created the expression “Black Is Beautiful” during the sixties by documenting the Grandassa Models in New York: youthful African American women who emerged as the transformative archetype for aesthetics, abandoning conventional cosmetic products and the usual white model of female beauty.
The Impact of Three Words
The iconic phrase transformed into a radical call to action, an visionary three-word prose poem for transformation. Simply declaring that people of color were beautiful became a empowering force in society, politics and culture. The photographer grew into integral to the social justice global Black movement by documenting Muhammad Ali leading up to his iconic Rumble in the Jungle in that era.
He was appointed the primary image creator for the Jackson 5's African tour, and later was named the resident artist for the legendary Apollo theatre, assembling an amazing archive of musical pioneers. Together with his brother, he emerged as the central figure behind arranging for Nelson Mandela to address the public in New York.
Personal Journey
The photographer's offspring his namesake is interviewed the family's quest to achieve appropriate credit for his father's legacy after he was unjustly ignored in Washington DC's Smithsonian institution, inaugurated by the political leader in recent years.
The film further reveals the profoundly sorrowful genesis of the photographer's passion for photography: the horrendous photographs of the lynching martyr, the adolescent Black lynching victim whose grieving mother courageously insisted on an uncovered casket so the horrific reality of racial hatred might not be hidden.
Amidst Sorrow to Empowerment
In this vision of horror, Brathwaite discovered a form of profound understanding that directed him toward visual representations of aspiration. His photographs powerfully conveyed celebratory strength and typically subtle in messaging: he developed a new symbolic representation of empowerment around which activist groups could unite.
The documentary stands as an inspiring record of artistic vision that persists in inspire decades later.
