Kwame Brathwaite

Kwame Brathwaite
Born 1938
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Occupation Photographer
Years active 1950s-present
Known for Documentary photography
Relatives Elombe Brath (brother)
Website https://www.kwamebrathwaite.com/about

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

Life and work

Kwame Brathwaite is a documentary photographer, born and brought up in New York City, who chronicled the cultural, political, and social developments of Harlem.[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 all-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]

References

  1. ↑ Williams, Lloyd A., Voza Rivers (2006). Forever Harlem : celebrating America's most diverse community. Champaign, Ill.: Sports Pub. ISBN 9781596702066. OCLC 74964311.
  2. ↑ Boyd, Herb (1 May 2003). "New York Amsterdam News". 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. 1 2 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.
  7. 1 2 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. ↑ Michael Famighetti (August 30, 2017). Elements of Style. Aperture. ISBN 978-1-59711-420-2.
  10. ↑ Valerie Steele (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.
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