Kwame Brathwaite facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kwame Brathwaite
|
|
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1938 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
|
| Died | April 1, 2023 (aged 85) |
| Occupation | Photojournalist, activist |
| Years active | 1950s–2023 |
| Known for | Documentary photojournalism |
| Relatives | Elombe Brath (brother), John Edward Brathwaite (brother) |
Kwame Brathwaite (1 January 1938 – 1 April 2023) was an American photojournalist and activist known for popularizing the phrase "Black is Beautiful" and documenting life and culture in Harlem and Africa.
Life and work
Kwame Brathwaite was born on 1 January 1938, and brought up in New York City, to immigrant parents from Barbados, who chronicled the cultural, political, and social developments of Harlem, Africa, and the African diaspora. As a boy in the early 1950s, he was enrolled at School of Industrial Art (now the High School of Art and Design).
With his older brother Elombe Brath, Brathwaite founded the African Jazz Art Society and Studios in 1956 and Grandassa Models in 1962.
Brathwaite died on 1 April 2023, at the age of 85.
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. 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. The Naturally pageants ran for five years, with the last one held in 1966.
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, and Muhammad Ali.
In 2017, Brathwaite was honored at the 75th Aperture Gala.
Exhibitions
- Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite, organized by Aperture Foundation (2019)
- Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (2019)
- Tools of Revolution: Fashion Photography and Activism, Houston Center for Photography (2020)
- The Struggle Continues, Victory is Certain, Philip Martin Gallery (2020)
- Facing Forward: Photographic Portraits from the Collection, Santa Barbara Museum of Art (2021)
- Changing Times, Philip Martin Gallery (2021)
- My Village/New York, Philip Martin Gallery (2022)
See also
In Spanish: Kwame Brathwaite para niños
