Everyone knows the phrase “Black is Beautiful,” but few know the man who helped bring it into the global consciousness. Harlem–based photographer, freedom fighter and activist Kwame Brathwaite (1938–2023) took 500,000 photos across his seventy-year career, always devoted to celebrating the joy and beauty of African American life.

Beginning in Harlem in the 1950s and working until his death in 2023, Brathwaite photographed cultural icons including Stevie Wonder, Muhammad Ali, Marvin Gaye, Roberta Flack, Nina Simone and the Jackson Five. But he also found beauty in everyday people on the streets.

At a time when such representation was considered radical, Brathwaite’s photographs centred celebration and joy rather than trauma or conflict. He also pioneered grassroots fashion shows that created space to discover and share natural Black beauty, helping to spark a cultural movement that resonated around the world.