Untitled (Naturally '68 photo shoot in the Apollo Theater featuring Grandassa models and founding AJASS members Kletus Smith, Frank Adu, Bob Gumbs, Elombe Brath and Ernest Baxter):

The object in the museum catalogue

A color photograph of Grandassa models and founding AJASS members Kletus Smith, Frank Adu, Bob Gumbs, Elombe Brath and Ernest Baxter captured at the Naturally '68 photo shoot at the Apollo Theater. The ten Grandassa models are standing in the back row with the tallest three at the center and the others in descending height order on either side. Sikolo Brathwaite is depicted standing third from the left. The five men are crouched in a row below the models. From left to right is Smith, Adu, Gumbs, Brath and Baxter. The women are wearing dresses and skirts, most of which are constructed from brightly colored textiles with African-inspired motifs. The men are wearing brightly colored and patterned dashiki shirts over jeans and trousers. Three of the men are holding books. The book held by Smith on the far left is [LITTLE ZENG TAKES US TO / ANCIENT AFRICA] by Christopher N. Hall and Robert Harris. The booklet at the center held by Gumbs reads [NATURALLY ’63 / PORTFOLIO], and the book on the right, held by Brath, is [COLOR / US / CULLUD! / The American Negro Leadership / Official Coloring Book] by Elombe Brath and Christopher Hall. The group is standing on a light tone wooden floor, in front of a dark blue wall. The wall is plastered with posters and flyers for events such as [NATURALLY ’62], [NATURALLY ’63], [NATURALLY ’64], [NATURALLY ’65], [NATURALLY ’67], [GARVEY DAY / CELEBRATION], [a portrait of / PATRICE / LUMUMBA], [[AFRICAN HUT DANCE], [caste-life / REVUE], and others. There are no marks or inscriptions, front or back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1968; printed 2017
• Photograph by: Kwame Brathwaite, American, 1938 - 2023
• Subject of: Kletus Smith, American
• Subject of: Frank Adu, American, 1937 - 2018
• Subject of: Robert Gumbs, American, born 1939
• Subject of: Elombe Brath, American, 1936 - 2014
• Subject of: Ernest Baxter, American, born 1939
• Subject of: Sikolo Brathwaite, American, born 1924
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Type: portraits
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: pigment on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 15 × 15 in. (38.1 × 38.1 cm)
• Place captured: Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: African diaspora
• Topic: Art
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Beauty culture
• Topic: Black power
• Topic: Design
• Object number: 2021.26.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Courtesy of the Kwame Brathwaite Archive & Philip Martin Gallery, © Kwame Brathwaite Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.