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| Where Activists Come To Eat by: Herndon L. Davis |
Between exposing political corruption, intervening in wars, and saving the planet from global warming, activists have a whole lot on their plate, literally.
Mentally thinking “left” all the time can work up a really big appetite, hence the creation of Washington, DC’s Busboys and Poets.
This eclectic, artsy and technology driven café/bookstore/performance space is the nexus for the radically inclined, artistically off-centered, and the all-
around activist at heart. Located in the currently transitioning U Street neighborhood of DC, Busboys and Poets sits at the intersection of 14th and V
street next to a rising condo development right down the street from a corridor of revitalized retail stores, filled with continuously hip-and-happening,
savvy urbanites.
“This is a place that was opened with the intent of making it a community center, a place where people that live in the neighborhood, people that come
from outside the neighborhood, can get together and can share ideas and thoughts and talk about the issues of the day, talk about art, talk about beauty,
talk about all the different things that they experience in their lives.
We wanted to create an environment that’s pleasant, that’s aesthetically pleasing, where they can come in and really relax and feel their senses are
heightened to a level that opens up itself for creativity, and for thoughts and ideas,” explains owner Andy Shallal.
Shallal, who was born in Iraq but raised in America, is also a well known artist/activist himself. He is also a man who had a clear and distinct vision
which was to create an intellectual oasis for progressive thinkers.
In fact, the establishment’s name actually pays homage to one of America’s greatest artists and progressive thinkers, Langston Hughes. “The building
that it’s in is called Langston Lofts named after the great poet Langston Hughes. So in honor of his name we decided to name this place Busboys and
Poets knowing that Langston Hughes had worked here as a busboy in Washington in the 1920’s while he was writing his poetry,” Shallal adds.
Since its opening nearly a year ago, the venue has played host to everything from blues bands to Palestinian hip-hop, plus African, Latin, Asian, and
Women movements and influences. In addition, poets, singers, anti-war and anti-tobacco groups, and activist personalities such as Ralph Nader and
Cindy Sheean and dozens other sympathetic peace movements have all made the rounds at this stomping ground for tolerance and diversity.
In addition celebrities such as Rupert Everett, Avery Brooks, Dick Gregory, and Malcolm Jamal Warner have also dropped by for various events
expressing their support of the fledgling entity.
Mentally thinking “left” all the time can work up a really big appetite, hence the creation of Washington, DC’s Busboys and Poets.
This eclectic, artsy and technology driven café/bookstore/performance space is the nexus for the radically inclined, artistically off-centered, and the all-
around activist at heart. Located in the currently transitioning U Street neighborhood of DC, Busboys and Poets sits at the intersection of 14th and V
street next to a rising condo development right down the street from a corridor of revitalized retail stores, filled with continuously hip-and-happening,
savvy urbanites.
“This is a place that was opened with the intent of making it a community center, a place where people that live in the neighborhood, people that come
from outside the neighborhood, can get together and can share ideas and thoughts and talk about the issues of the day, talk about art, talk about beauty,
talk about all the different things that they experience in their lives.
We wanted to create an environment that’s pleasant, that’s aesthetically pleasing, where they can come in and really relax and feel their senses are
heightened to a level that opens up itself for creativity, and for thoughts and ideas,” explains owner Andy Shallal.
Shallal, who was born in Iraq but raised in America, is also a well known artist/activist himself. He is also a man who had a clear and distinct vision
which was to create an intellectual oasis for progressive thinkers.
In fact, the establishment’s name actually pays homage to one of America’s greatest artists and progressive thinkers, Langston Hughes. “The building
that it’s in is called Langston Lofts named after the great poet Langston Hughes. So in honor of his name we decided to name this place Busboys and
Poets knowing that Langston Hughes had worked here as a busboy in Washington in the 1920’s while he was writing his poetry,” Shallal adds.
Since its opening nearly a year ago, the venue has played host to everything from blues bands to Palestinian hip-hop, plus African, Latin, Asian, and
Women movements and influences. In addition, poets, singers, anti-war and anti-tobacco groups, and activist personalities such as Ralph Nader and
Cindy Sheean and dozens other sympathetic peace movements have all made the rounds at this stomping ground for tolerance and diversity.
In addition celebrities such as Rupert Everett, Avery Brooks, Dick Gregory, and Malcolm Jamal Warner have also dropped by for various events
expressing their support of the fledgling entity.
| The Look and The Feel |
| Not Your Typical Bookstore |
| Everyone is Welcome |
Copyrighted 2006
Herndon Davis is an author, lecturer, and TV/Radio Host of The Herndon Davis Reports. He can be reached directly at
http://herndondavis.com
Herndon Davis is an author, lecturer, and TV/Radio Host of The Herndon Davis Reports. He can be reached directly at
http://herndondavis.com
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| Empowering The World's Diversity |
Seating 300, Busboys and Poets makes use of every square inch of space as it is filled with cushioned chairs, ottomans, sofas, and chaise lounges which
are used not just as places to lounge but also as places to eat.
When you first enter this liberal, mecca no matter what time of day or night, you’ll find dozens of customers with a plate of food in one hand and a
laptop in the other. The entire place is wired with free Wi-Fi access. At first glance you’d think you were at a nerd convention with everyone’s nose
buried into their laptop screens as they nibble on their entrees.
The ambient music sways from soft jazz to house music including every genre in between. The staff represents the United Nations and the clientele
represents the reality of the country’s diversity. Every ethnic group is represented along with a fluidity of sexual orientations as openly gay couples and
straight couples eat in harmony with no hint of red-blue-state divisiveness.
Probably most impressive is the performance arts theatre which is named “The Langston Room.” Equipped with a stage, plus lighting and sound
equipment, the room can instantly become an open mic, a poet’s delight, a jazz band’s oasis, a venue for a political press conference, or a space for
neighborhood groups to rally and to organize, all while eating from a wide variety menu.
In addition, there’s a long wall in the Langston Room which was painstakingly painted with a mural of every social peace activist, past and present, from
the past century. The collage was actually created by Busboy owner, Andy Shallal. “As an artist I wanted to put a representation of this space that
[shows] what this space is all about and what this place is all about and one way to do it was with a collage which has many of the civil rights icons and
some of the struggles and moments in history that we all remember as significant moments in different struggles.
We have images of Martin Luther King Jr., we’ve got images of Rosa Parks, and Gandhi and other important civil rights and peace activists that we have
known through history throughout the last century.”
are used not just as places to lounge but also as places to eat.
When you first enter this liberal, mecca no matter what time of day or night, you’ll find dozens of customers with a plate of food in one hand and a
laptop in the other. The entire place is wired with free Wi-Fi access. At first glance you’d think you were at a nerd convention with everyone’s nose
buried into their laptop screens as they nibble on their entrees.
The ambient music sways from soft jazz to house music including every genre in between. The staff represents the United Nations and the clientele
represents the reality of the country’s diversity. Every ethnic group is represented along with a fluidity of sexual orientations as openly gay couples and
straight couples eat in harmony with no hint of red-blue-state divisiveness.
Probably most impressive is the performance arts theatre which is named “The Langston Room.” Equipped with a stage, plus lighting and sound
equipment, the room can instantly become an open mic, a poet’s delight, a jazz band’s oasis, a venue for a political press conference, or a space for
neighborhood groups to rally and to organize, all while eating from a wide variety menu.
In addition, there’s a long wall in the Langston Room which was painstakingly painted with a mural of every social peace activist, past and present, from
the past century. The collage was actually created by Busboy owner, Andy Shallal. “As an artist I wanted to put a representation of this space that
[shows] what this space is all about and what this place is all about and one way to do it was with a collage which has many of the civil rights icons and
some of the struggles and moments in history that we all remember as significant moments in different struggles.
We have images of Martin Luther King Jr., we’ve got images of Rosa Parks, and Gandhi and other important civil rights and peace activists that we have
known through history throughout the last century.”
Located neatly in the corner of the
café is a bookstore which is operated
by the non-profit organization,
Teaching For Change.
The store is filled to the brim with
world-centric political and economic
literature combined with anti-bias and
multi-cultural books for youth and
adults alike.
Shallal adds that Teaching For Change
brings “civil rights and social justice to
city schools.
They provide materials and resources
to teach students on how to become
better citizens and more active
participants in democracy.
They are the ones that run the
bookstore. All the money that is spent
here in the book store goes to the non-
profit Teaching For Change for them
to improve their program and to have
better resources for teachers.”
Not surprising there is a huge section
dedicated to peace: understanding it,
facilitating it, and maintaining it.
There’s also an extensive American
History section which blends into the
ethnic, cultural, and sexual studies
books, which give way to political and
economic literature.
café is a bookstore which is operated
by the non-profit organization,
Teaching For Change.
The store is filled to the brim with
world-centric political and economic
literature combined with anti-bias and
multi-cultural books for youth and
adults alike.
Shallal adds that Teaching For Change
brings “civil rights and social justice to
city schools.
They provide materials and resources
to teach students on how to become
better citizens and more active
participants in democracy.
They are the ones that run the
bookstore. All the money that is spent
here in the book store goes to the non-
profit Teaching For Change for them
to improve their program and to have
better resources for teachers.”
Not surprising there is a huge section
dedicated to peace: understanding it,
facilitating it, and maintaining it.
There’s also an extensive American
History section which blends into the
ethnic, cultural, and sexual studies
books, which give way to political and
economic literature.
Shallal adds that he wanted to create a place where people would “feel a sense of beauty and not be intimidated by it. So people can walk in with jeans
and shorts, or whatever, and feel comfortable here or people can walk in with a suit and feel comfortable.”
And despite your political persuasion, liberals, moderates, and conservatives alike are all welcome at Busboys and Poets. “We like to think of ourselves
as being humanists and we like to think of ourselves as peace activists. So it’s not just leftists who would feel comfortable.
I think its anyone who believes in social justice who believes in rights for all, who aspires for everything that we believe America stands for, that is
liberty and justice and peace and equality and all that I think would feel very much at home here.”
And most importantly for anyone on a budget, the extensive menu is amazingly cheap with only three items priced over $10, along with a strong
culinary flair which is complimented with an ambience that’s intellectually stimulating yet casual.
and shorts, or whatever, and feel comfortable here or people can walk in with a suit and feel comfortable.”
And despite your political persuasion, liberals, moderates, and conservatives alike are all welcome at Busboys and Poets. “We like to think of ourselves
as being humanists and we like to think of ourselves as peace activists. So it’s not just leftists who would feel comfortable.
I think its anyone who believes in social justice who believes in rights for all, who aspires for everything that we believe America stands for, that is
liberty and justice and peace and equality and all that I think would feel very much at home here.”
And most importantly for anyone on a budget, the extensive menu is amazingly cheap with only three items priced over $10, along with a strong
culinary flair which is complimented with an ambience that’s intellectually stimulating yet casual.
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