Kwame Brathwaite's Vision of 'Black is Beautiful'

In the late 1950s and 1960s, the photographer Kwame Brathwaite, born in Brooklyn to a Caribbean American family, used his work to push for social change. Along with his brother, he founded the African Jazz-Art Society & Studios, an artist collective in Harlem and the Bronx, and also is thought of one of the creators of the phrase, “Black Is Beautiful.” A new exhibition at the New York Historical Society, called, Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite, displays his photography and behind the scenes images of his involvement in the artistic communities around Harlem. Kwame S. Brathwaite, the artist's son and archive director of The Kwame Brathwaite Archive, and Marilyn Kushner, curator and head of the Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections at the New-York Historical Society, join us to discuss the show, which is on display until January 15.