Black Is Beautiful: A Captivating Journey of Revolutionary Artist Kwame Brathwaite

We have witnessed countless compelling features about photographers: Tish Murtha. Perhaps cinematic storytelling naturally comes alive when showcasing particularly vivid photographs. Now comes another outstanding instance, from creator Yemi Bamiro, chronicling the extraordinary life's work of Kwame Brathwaite—an artist, performer and African American activist who embodied a special artistic-political approach.

Together with his sibling Elombe, he effectively created the phrase “Black Is Beautiful” in the mid-century era by capturing the African American women in the cultural epicenter: young African American women who became the transformative archetype for visual appeal, rejecting typical beauty standards and the usual Caucasian ideal of womanhood.

The Impact of a Simple Phrase

The iconic phrase transformed into a radical unifying message, an inspired concise manifesto for progress. Just declaring that African Americans radiated beauty became a transformative force in society, politics and creative expression. Brathwaite grew into a key figure in the civil rights pan-Africanist cause by photographing Muhammad Ali leading up to his historic Zaire bout in the seventies.

He served as the official photographer for the band's African tour, and later assumed the role of the house photographer for the historic Harlem venue, assembling an extraordinary collection of African American artists. Together with his sibling, he was the driving force behind securing Nelson Mandela to appear in New York.

Historical Recognition

Brathwaite's son his namesake is interviewed the family's quest to achieve due acknowledgment for his parent's achievements after he was painfully overlooked in Washington DC's National Museum of African American History and Culture, inaugurated by Barack Obama in this century.

The feature additionally explores the inexpressibly painful inspiration of Brathwaite's dedication to image making: the horrendous images of the young victim, the teenage civil rights lynching victim whose bereaved parent courageously demanded an open coffin so the horrific reality of bigoted brutality might not be hidden.

Through Darkness to Empowerment

In this vision of horror, the artist found a kind of anti-epiphany that directed him toward photographs of aspiration. His images beautifully expressed empowering beauty and frequently nuanced in approach: he established a innovative visual language of strength through which activist groups could mobilize.

It is an exhilarating record of artistic vision that continues to inspire across generations.