The Impact of Mass Incarceration is the first of “The Impact” series hosted by Busboys and Poets Books.  Our weeklong program delves into the impact of mass incarceration and will address the inequities of the criminal legal system. The series will explore The Impact on victims, their communities, their families, and the lack of resources and commitment to reintegration.   

More than 10 million arrests are made each year in the United States with an arrest made every three seconds. Within this statistic, fewer than 5 percent of these are for serious violent crimes

(Vera Institute, 2019

Busboys and Poets strives to inform the public of why criminal legal reform is necessary and provide resources for those with a criminal record and allies in this fight to end mass incarceration.   All are welcome, including those returning to their communities after incarceration.   All events are free and open to all unless otherwise noted. 

Schedule of Events

Sunday, August 6, 2023
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5PM @ Shirlington | A.C.T.O.R. (A Continuing Talk on Race) and The Impact Series Presents a screening & discussion of 13th.  In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African-Americans and the U.S. Prison boom. Facilitated by Pamela Pinnock more info


Hot Mic with Black Chakra

6PM @ Columbia | THE IMPACT SERIES: Speak Out Open Mic hosted by Black Chakra Participants are encouraged to share poetry and art that centers around liberation, the prison-industrial complex, and the fight for justice!  $5 Admission


Monday, August 7, 2023
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6PM @ 450K | Busboys and Poets Books welcomes Kristin Henning and John Bunn to discuss The Rage of Innocence. Drawing upon twenty-five years of experience representing young people in Washington, D.C.’s juvenile courts, Kristin Henning confronts America’s irrational and manufactured fears of Black youth and makes a compelling case that the nation’s obsession with policing and incarcerating Black America begins with Black children.  more info


Tuesday, August 8, 2023
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6PM @ Brookland | The Impact presents Ingrid Archie and Shakyra Diaz. Ingrid Archie and Shakyra Diaz are joining us on the Busboys stage to share the impact mass incarceration has had on their lives and on their work with TimeDone – a program of Alliance for Safety and Justice. more info


Wednesday, August 9, 2023
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6PM @ 14th & V | Busboys and Poets welcomes Mike Africa Jr. and Tony Lewis Jr.  Mike Africa Jr. and Tony Lewis Jr. worked diligently to free their fathers from extreme prison sentences and they did it! They will be joining us on the Busboys stage to share their amazing stories of perseverance and living tales of survival. Mike Africa, Jr. is an activist, writer, speaker, stage performer and hip hop artist. His story is featured in the HBO Max documentary 40 Years A Prisoner. Tony Lewis Jr is an author, activist, criminal justice reformer, and reentry expert that has spent his adult life working tirelessly at the intersection of poverty, violence, mass incarceration, and trauma.  more info


Thursday, August 10, 2023
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6PM @ 14th & V | The Impact presents Look 2 Justice with Christopher Blackwell, Dr. Chelsea Moore, Wayne (Weezy) Dubois, Cassandra DuBois, Devon Adams, Jessica Schulberg, Rep. David Hackney and Udi Ofer. LOOK 2 JUSTICE is a grassroots organization led by criminal legal system-impacted people that works to transform the legal system by providing civic education and empowerment programs for incarcerated people and their loved ones. The panelists will be joining us on the Busboys stage to share their experience transforming the lives of the deliberately silenced through their activism to change the state of Washington’s criminal justice system. more info


Friday, August 11, 2023

6PM @ Takoma | Creativity is My Freedom: Opening Reception, Art Showcase and Discussion with the Justice Arts Coalition (JAC). Busboys and Poets, in collaboration with Justice Arts Coalition (JAC), is organizing an exhibition featuring the depth of creative vision, explored across mediums, of formerly and currently incarcerated artists. Creativity is my Freedom aims to demonstrate the numerous ways that creative practice allows us to transcend environment, thought, and mundanity to instead enter realms of imaginative freedom. more info


Saturday, August 12, 2023
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11 AM @ Anacostia | Busboys and Poets Books welcomes Momolou S.K. Stewart for this Brunch & Book Event


Creativity is My Freedom: Exhibiting Artists

Arts @ Busboys and Poets presents “Creativity is My Freedom” , an exhibit curated in collaboration with The Impact of Mass Incarceration This exhibition will be displayed at Busboys and Poets, Takoma from Thursday, July 27, 2023 thru January 9, 2024. The opening reception will be August 11th, 2023 from 6:00-8:00pm.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

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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

“The Busy Trap”

“The Busy Trap”

“Life is too short to be busy” writes Kreider for the NYTimes

Busboys and Poets Books Review: Before the Next Bomb Drops

Busboys and Poets Books Review: Before the Next Bomb Drops

In his second poetry collection, Remi Kanazi takes the reader on a journey of violence and collective ignorance from Palestine to Ferguson to Iraq to Brooklyn. His unapologetically angry, graphic depictions of violence and fierce indictment of the ignorant among us who claim “the world is a messed-up place” but do nothing to stop it … Continued

New Happy Hour Specials

New Happy Hour Specials

Now enjoy happy hour specials, like 1/2 off Small Plates from 4-7pm at all locations

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DC VegFest Media Party at Takoma

We kicked off another year of DC VegFest by hosting the media party in the Guillén Room at Takoma to about 60 local and national influencers. For the last four years we’ve sponsored DC VegFest and have provided an overflowing buffet of various vegan foods from our catering and regular menu, like vegan “beef” sliders, … Continued