Kwame Brathwaite

Kwame Brathwaite (born 1938) is an American photojournalist known for documenting life and culture in Harlem and Africa.[1]

Kwame Brathwaite
Born1938
Brooklyn, New York, USA
OccupationPhotojournalist
Years active1950s–present
Known forDocumentary photojournalism
RelativesSikolo Brathwaite (wife), Ndola Q. Brathwaite Carlest (daughter), Kwame S. Brathwaite (son), Elombe Brath (brother), John E. Brathwaite (brother)
Websitehttps://www.kwamebrathwaite.com/about

Life and work

Kwame Brathwaite is a documentary photojournalist, born and brought up in New York City, who chronicled the cultural, political, and social developments of Harlem, Africa, and the African dispora.[2] With his older brother Elombe Brath, Brathwaite founded the African Jazz Art Society and Studios in 1956[3] and Grandassa Models in 1962.[4][5]

Naturally pageants

On January 28, 1962, with his brother Elombe Brath, Brathwaite staged the Naturally '62 pageant, the first of a series of pageants to feature only black models.[4] The 1962 pageant has the title The Original African Coiffure and Fashion Extravaganza Designed to Restore Our Racial Pride & Standards.[6][7] Held at the Harlem Purple Manor, a nightclub on East 125th Street, it helped to popularize the phrase "Black Is Beautiful" that was printed on the pageant's poster.[8][9][10] The Naturally pageants ran for five years, with the last one held in 1966.[7]

In the 1960s, his work also appeared in New York Amsterdam News, The City Sun, and The Daily Challenge. He photographed concerts of Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, James Brown,[11] and Muhammad Ali.[12]

In 2017, Brathwaite was honored at the 75th Aperture Gala.[13]

Exhibitions
  • 2019 Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite, organized by Aperture Foundation[14]
  • 2019 Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Texas[15]
  • 2020 Tools of Revolution: Fashion Photography and Activism, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, Texas[16]

References
  1. Williams, Lloyd A., Voza Rivers (2006). Forever Harlem: celebrating America's most diverse community. Champaign, Ill.: Sports Pub. ISBN 9781596702066. OCLC 74964311.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  2. Boyd, Herb (1 May 2003). "New York Amsterdam News".
  3. Bohnacker, Siobhán (March 30, 2018). "An Artist's Ornate Natural Hair Styles, Through the Eyes of a Legendary Photographer of Black Beauty". The New Yorker.
  4. Nnadi, Chioma (February 3, 2018). "How One Photographer Captured the Soul of the 'Black Is Beautiful' Movement". Vogue. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  5. "Founding members of AJASS (African Jazz-Art Society & Studios), and the Grandassa Models, posing in front of a collection of posters from some of their organized events. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library". Schomburg Center.
  6. "The Grandassa Models, Naturally". PDN Photo of the Day. May 20, 2016. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  7. Wills, David (October 3, 2017). Switched On: Women Who Revolutionized Style in the 60's. Simon and Schuster. pp. 36–. ISBN 978-1-68188-261-1.
  8. Laneri, Raquel (February 6, 2018). "How a Harlem fashion show started the 'Black is Beautiful' movement". New York Post.
  9. Famighetti, Michael (August 30, 2017). Elements of Style. Aperture. ISBN 978-1-59711-420-2.
  10. Steele, Valerie (2005). Encyclopedia of clothing and fashion. Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 978-0-684-31395-5.
  11. "Artist talk celebrates musical superstars". New York Amsterdam News. April 12, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  12. Oates, Joyce Carol (November 28, 2017). "Muhammad Ali, Beginning to End for the First Time in a Book". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  13. "Elements Of Style, Aperture Gala 2017". Aperture Foundation NY. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  14. "Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite". Aperture Foundation NY. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  15. "Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography". The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  16. "Tools of Revolution: Fashion Photography and Activism – Houston Center for Photography". Retrieved 2020-06-13.
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