The Beauty of Blackness: A Revealing Tale of Trailblazing Photographer Kwame Brathwaite

History has seen numerous compelling films about image makers: Vivian Maier. Perhaps the film medium particularly shines when showcasing exceptionally powerful visual compositions. Now we have another remarkable example, directed by creator Yemi Bamiro, exploring the remarkable professional journey of Kwame Brathwaite—a creative force, musician and social justice champion who exemplified a unique cultural-activist perspective.

Alongside his brother Elombe, he pioneered the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” during the 1960s by documenting the Harlem models in Harlem: emerging African American women who became the transformative standard for beauty, rejecting typical cosmetic products and the established Eurocentric standard of female beauty.

The Impact of Three Words

The iconic phrase became a transformative call to action, an inspired three-word declaration for transformation. Simply declaring that people of color radiated beauty became a transformative force in society, social movements and culture. The artist grew into part of the social justice African diaspora cause by documenting Muhammad Ali leading up to his iconic Zaire bout in that era.

He became the official visual documentarian for the musical group's African tour, and subsequently became the official visual chronicler for the historic Apollo theatre, building an extraordinary archive of musical pioneers. Alongside Elombe, he became the key organizer behind securing Nelson Mandela to appear in Harlem.

Personal Journey

Brathwaite's son Kwame Jr shares the family's campaign to achieve appropriate credit for his father's legacy after he was unjustly ignored in Washington DC's cultural museum, established by the former president in 2016.

This documentary further reveals the profoundly sorrowful genesis of Brathwaite's passion for photography: the disturbing photographs of Emmett Till, the teenage Black murder victim whose mourning family member boldly demanded an uncovered casket so the horrific reality of bigoted brutality would not be concealed.

From Tragedy to Beauty

From this image of violence, the artist encountered a kind of anti-epiphany that directed him toward visual representations of aspiration. His photographs were eloquent of empowering beauty and often subtle in messaging: he established a new visual language of empowerment upon which activist groups could mobilize.

This represents an exhilarating chronicle of creative genius that persists in resonate decades later.