CAAM Cinema: Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story

Join us for a special screening of Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story, a powerful documentary that explores the life and legacy of acclaimed photographer Kwame Brathwaite.

Inspired by the harrowing images of Emmett Till published in Jet magazine in 1955, Brathwaite dedicated himself to art and political activism, wielding his camera as a tool for change. Black Is Beautiful celebrates Black history, art, and culture, highlighting Brathwaite's rise during the second Harlem Renaissance, the civil rights movement, and the evolution of modern art. Following the screening, Jesse Williams and Kwame Brathwaite Jr., both featured in the film, will discuss the enduring influence of Brathwaite’s work.

7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Reception 

8:00 – 9:30 p.m. Film Screening 

9:30 – 10:15 p.m. Talkback

Image: Kwame Brathwaite, Untitled (Model who embraced natural hairstyles at AJASS photoshoot), ca. 1970. Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy the J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Made possible by the Ford Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Smithsonian Institution. © Estate of Kwame Brathwaite

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