The Power of Black Beauty: The Inspiring Journey of Trailblazing Photographer Kwame Brathwaite

There have been many engaging features about photographers: Vivian Maier. Maybe the documentary format particularly shines when showcasing exceptionally powerful visual compositions. Today we have a new remarkable instance, by writer-director Yemi Bamiro, exploring the impressive career of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, performer and social justice champion who exemplified a unique artistic-political vision.

In partnership with his brother Elombe, he virtually invented the slogan “Black Is Beautiful” during the mid-century era by photographing the Grandassa Models in the cultural epicenter: youthful African American women who became the transformative template for beauty, rejecting conventional cosmetic products and the established Eurocentric model of womanhood.

The Influence of Three Words

Black Is Beautiful evolved into a transformative rallying cry, an visionary three-word manifesto for progress. Just to assert that African Americans possessed beauty emerged as a transformative power in culture, activism and creative expression. The photographer grew into part of the social justice African diaspora cause by capturing images of the sports icon before his legendary Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.

He served as the official visual documentarian for the Jackson 5's international performances, and later was named the official visual chronicler for the legendary cultural institution, building an incredible archive of musical pioneers. Alongside his brother, he was the driving force behind arranging for the anti-apartheid icon to address the public in Harlem.

Personal Journey

The photographer's offspring his namesake is interviewed the their mission to secure appropriate credit for his father's legacy after he was hurtfully excluded in the prestigious National Museum of African American History and Culture, inaugurated by the former president in 2016.

The film further reveals the inexpressibly painful origin of the artist's interest in photography: the disturbing pictures of Emmett Till, the teenage civil rights tragic figure whose grieving mother defiantly demanded an open coffin so the violent nature of racist violence would not be covered up.

Through Darkness to Beauty

In this image of tragedy, Brathwaite found a type of transformative realization that guided him toward images of community. His images beautifully expressed community pride and typically nuanced in approach: he established a new iconography of pride upon which social causes could mobilize.

The documentary stands as an inspiring chronicle of cultural impact that continues to empower decades later.