Kwame Brathwaite

US photojournalist and activist, born 1938 in Harlem, NY, died April 1st, 2023. Mr Brathwaite was born to immigrant parents from Barbados. He has widely been considered the "keeper of the images" for the Black Arts and Culture Movement. During his career which spans nearly 55 years, Brathwaite has had the honor of capturing some of Black History's greatest moments and progressive figures. Beginning as a jazz photographer in 1956, especially for Blue Note in the 1960s, he changed his name from Ronnie to Kwame in the mid of 1970s. Kwame's photojournalism has appeared in numerous publications in the United States, Europe, Africa, Japan and South America. Some of these include Allure, Cosmopolitan, Essence, Glamour, GQ,New York Magazine, People, Who Weekly, AdLib (Japan), Blues & Soul (England), and Everybody's Caribbean Magazine among others. Mr. Brathwaite has traveled extensively with his camera in the US and abroad, photographing education, political and entertainment still documentation during the 20th and 21st century. He has had the honor of being selected by several heads of state to document their travels in the U.S., including President Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea, Maurice Bishop of Grenada and President Sam Nujoma of Namibia. Among his most treasured images are his coverage of the funeral of his namesake, Kwame Nkrumah, the independence of Namibia along with the Inauguration of his longtime friend Pres. Sam Njoma, and the inauguration of Nelson Mandela, the later two events are amongst the things for which he had fought for for more than thirty years. He was awarded the Career Achievement Award for creating some of yesterdays and today's most gripping images by the National Conference of Artists (NCA) for 50 years of photojournalism.