State of the People at Busboys and Poets

We’re 30+ days into the longest federal government shutdown in history with no sure sign of when it’ll actually end (reopening for three weeks does not count, Mr. President.) The State of the Union address was scheduled to take place on January 29, 2019, but has never been given during a government shutdown. What should we expect from Congress and the President? That’s unsure, but what’s certain for you is an enjoyable night at Busboys and Poets!

We’re here to deliver the State of the Union People, a series of alternative State of the Union events. Spend the night hearing from an array of voices across our different locations. You’ll hear about the state of our nation in the form of conversation, discussion, comedy and poetry.

We’ll be joined by Ralph Nader in Conversation with Andy Shallal, Hamberder: Comedy Showcase of Covfefe Proportions, Dan Imhoff for The Farm Bill: A Citizen’s Guide and State of the People Open Mic and more, along with our regularly programmed Tuesday night events.

Come and join us for a night to remember! You can check out the list of events below to find out what’s happening on January 29, 2019 at Busboys and Poets.

List of State of the People Events and events on January 29, 2019

Busboys and Poets 450K:
Busboys and Poets 14th & V:
Busboys and Poets Takoma:
Busboys and Poets Brookland:
The Making of Busboys and Poets

A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets

We’re proud to announce A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets, the new memoir from our CEO and Founder, which reveals the vision, challenges, and triumphs behind opening Busboys and Poets. Packed with misadventures, unexpected triumphs, and insights on race, business and politics, Andy Shallal’s memoir takes us on a “How I Built … Continued

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For Langston Hughes on His 123 Birthday

Speech given on February 1, 2024 in Havana, Cuba In 1927 Langston Hughes walked into a Cuba amid an emerging community of artists, intellectuals, and radicals.  He saw a “sunrise in a new land [– a day – in his words]sic – full of brownskin surprises, and hitherto unknown contacts in a world of color.”  … Continued

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Palestine Week 2024

January 18, 2024 – January 25, 2024 In keeping with our ongoing mission of uplifting racial and cultural connections, Busboys and Poets is hosting Palestine Week (January 18 through January 25, 2024). This week-long series of events will offer a diverse range of programming featuring Palestinian food, music, dance, poetry, discussions, and other enriching events. … Continued

Busboys and Poets Books Review: Jim Brown, Last Man Standing

Busboys and Poets Books Review: Jim Brown, Last Man Standing

In clear, fluid prose, Dave Zirin chronicles the life of legendary Cleveland Browns running back, Jim Brown, from his childhood in St. Simons Island, Georgia, raised by three women, through his NFL and Hollywood acting careers, to his cultural impact as a Black Power icon in the 1960s and beyond. Zirin reveals a complicated picture … Continued

Books We Recommend

Books We Recommend

If your New Years resolution is to read more, you may want to add these two to your list!

Busboys and Poets Books Review: Love Poems

Busboys and Poets Books Review: Love Poems

In Love Poems, Nikki Giovanni gives an empowered edge to the topics of sexuality, intimacy and what it means to love. Published in 1997, the collection’s poems span thirty years of her career as a writer. We hear Giovanni through many lenses: as a young woman, as an activist striving for change, as a lover, … Continued

On Censorship by Salman Rushdie

On Censorship by Salman Rushdie

No writer ever really wants to talk about censorship. Writers want to talk about creation, and censorship is anti-creation, negative energy, uncreation, the bringing into being of non-being, or, to use Tom Stoppard’s description of death, “the absence of presence.” Censorship is the thing that stops you doing what you want to do, and what writers want to talk about is what they do, not what stops them doing it.