The Beauty of Blackness: A Inspiring Journey of Revolutionary Visionary Kwame Brathwaite

There have been countless compelling documentaries about photographers: Vivian Maier. Perhaps the film medium particularly shines when displaying exceptionally powerful photographs. Now we have one more remarkable case, directed by writer-director Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the impressive life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, performer and civil rights advocate who exemplified a special politico-aesthetic vision.

Together with his brother Elombe, he virtually invented the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” during the mid-century era by photographing the African American women in New York: emerging women of color who emerged as the transformative archetype for beauty, rejecting typical beauty standards and the usual white standard of womanhood.

The Impact of a Simple Phrase

Black Is Beautiful became a powerful call to action, an brilliant three-word declaration for change. Simply to assert that black people possessed beauty emerged as a liberating influence in art, politics and the arts. The artist grew into integral to the civil rights pan-Africanist cause by capturing images of Muhammad Ali leading up to his legendary Zaire bout in 1974.

He became the exclusive photographer for the Jackson 5's continental journey, and eventually became the resident artist for the legendary Apollo theatre, building an amazing collection of musical pioneers. Alongside his sibling, he became the driving force behind securing Nelson Mandela to appear in New York.

Historical Recognition

Brathwaite's son Kwame Jr is interviewed the personal mission to secure proper recognition for his parent's achievements after he was painfully ignored in the prestigious National Museum of African American History and Culture, established by the political leader in 2016.

The film also recounts the deeply tragic inspiration of the artist's interest in photography: the disturbing images of the young victim, the adolescent civil rights murder victim whose grieving mother courageously insisted on an public viewing so the violent nature of racial hatred could not be hidden.

From Tragedy to Empowerment

In this representation of horror, the visionary encountered a kind of profound understanding that guided him toward visual representations of community. His photographs powerfully conveyed empowering beauty and often subtle in messaging: he established a fresh iconography of strength through which social causes could mobilize.

This represents an exhilarating record of artistic vision that persists in empower through the years.