The Beauty of Blackness: The Captivating Tale of Game-Changing Visionary Kwame Brathwaite

We have witnessed many engaging films highlighting visual artists: Vivian Maier. Maybe cinematic storytelling particularly shines when displaying remarkably striking still images. Today we have another outstanding instance, by creator Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the extraordinary professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—a photographer, artist and social justice champion who exemplified a special politico-aesthetic vision.

Together with his family member Elombe, he virtually invented the expression “Black Is Beautiful” during the 1960s by photographing the African American women in the cultural epicenter: youthful women of color who transformed into the groundbreaking standard for aesthetics, moving beyond conventional grooming practices and the predominant Caucasian model of female beauty.

The Impact of a Simple Phrase

The iconic phrase became a radical rallying cry, an inspired memorable declaration for progress. Just to assert that people of color possessed beauty became a transformative influence in society, social movements and culture. The artist became a key figure in the civil rights pan-Africanist struggle by documenting the sports icon before his historic Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.

He served as the exclusive image creator for the musical group's African tour, and later assumed the role of the resident artist for the historic Apollo theatre, assembling an incredible archive of musical pioneers. Together with Elombe, he was the driving force behind securing the South African leader to appear in the community.

Personal Journey

Brathwaite's son the younger Brathwaite recounts the their mission to achieve due acknowledgment for his family heritage after he was painfully overlooked in the nation's capital's Smithsonian institution, inaugurated by Barack Obama in 2016.

This documentary also recounts the profoundly sorrowful inspiration of the photographer's passion for visual storytelling: the shocking photographs of the lynching martyr, the teenage Black murder victim whose bereaved parent courageously demanded an open coffin so the violent nature of racist violence would not be concealed.

Amidst Sorrow to Beauty

Through this vision of horror, Brathwaite found a type of transformative realization that led him toward visual representations of aspiration. His images were eloquent of celebratory strength and typically subtle in messaging: he developed a new iconography of pride through which political movements could mobilize.

It is an captivating chronicle of cultural impact that persists in empower decades later.