One of the things that I remember about growing up in the 70s in inner city Washington, D.C. was that whenever we had as children, an errand to run for our family or neighbors and we had to go to the local corner store to purchase the items, we'd get to the store, and either our way in or on our way out, we'd see these Anheuser-Busch Great Kings and Queens of Africa posters on the wall.
It would always strike me as fascinating to look at these posters because #1 the artwork was incredible. They were so detailed and so well done. On the other hand, we were talking about a Beer company here and we all know the on-going debate over the years of how alcohol, beer and later malt-liquor companies have and had targeted the African-American community.
With all politics of that reality aside, one thing that stayed with me was the incredible artwork of the posters and I remember trying to look closely in the corners of those pictures as a kid to try and see who were the artists each month they would put new ones up.
Fast forward to 2008 and the blessing of technology. ;)
AfricanAmericanBud.com has created an interactive timeline featuring the 30 Great Kings and Queens they have featured over the years.
The Budweiser copyright 2006 Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Budweiser Beer ad I saw recently read:
"Brilliant leaders such as Askia Muhammad, Sunni Ali Ber, Nefertari and Hannibal have earned their revered place in history. Now they occupy another place of honor, in our Great Kings and Queens of Africa portrait collection.
"At Anheuser-Busch, we're proud to help celebrate the heritage all African-Americans share. But, more importantly, we hope to inspire the kings and queens in us all."
1 comment :
Hey Lawrence just read your post (enjoyed it). Those posters were brilliant and guess what they are hard to find because most people saw it as a "conflict of interest" so few collected this incredible artwork.
If you have them hold on because they are worth a lot to those of us who remember.
Cubie
qbcubie@hotmail.com
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