11/30/2023 0 Comments Busboy and poets dc 14thst“I don’t have that kind of boycott mentality going on. “I plan to go back to Busboys,” Ellis says. No, no one plans on boycotting Busboys & Poets. We want it to continue, but in a manner that fosters open lines of communication and a mutual mindfulness.” To date, it has been a fruitful yet unexamined relationship. In the interest of strengthening the relationship between Busboys and Poets and the local, active poetry community, we extend the offer to help initiate and sustain a dialogue between you. The letter, not yet sent to Shallal but obtained by TBD, reads, “As poets who have sat in those chairs and booths as well as stood upon that stage, we ask you to consider the ways in which placing a cardboard cutout of Hughes within Busboys and Poets-making of him a character, a mascot, more than a presence-unfortunately does not honor his legacy. To that end, the poet and a group of other Washington writers have penned a fittingly eloquent letter to Shallal, enclosed with a check for $150 - what Shallal said the cutout cost. He wants to make sure that Shallal doesn’t buy another flat Langston, as the business owner told the Post he’d do if the cutout was not returned. “Let’s put it this way - I left it in the poorest part of town. “You’re sitting eating food- who’s cleaning your goddamn dishes? What do you think, that these people are invisible- like fireflies flying around you?”Įllis says he knows where the cutout is. DCs art community at Busboy & Poets, channel your inner Zen at Bhakti Yoga, head over to Fords Theatre for a production, throw on your hockey jersey and. Ellis and others who agree with his protest “are people who talk about social justice and all these wonderful things, and how we should all struggle,” yet, being a busboy is seen as “a shameful thing.” But “there is no shame in work,” says the restaurateur. Shallal says Ellis stole the cutout because the poet resented the reminder that Hughes used to work as a busboy. At Busboys, “there have been political undertones since Day One,” largely related to the perception that Shallal, who is Iraqi, is cashing in on black Americans, past and present. Shallal says Ellis’s theft was about race, class, and shame. The coverage prompted aThe one-dimensional character of the cutout, he says, “was too simple,” and “packed into one moment that everyone can use like ‘I have a dream.’” While Ellis was in town for the Association of Writers & Writing Programs conference, he says the event “was buzzing about this flatness, him standing at the door as service, still, as service, again.” To Ellis, the cutout symbolized a disrespectful, touristy slant on history, peddled by a business that profits from Hughes’ image and its commitment to the arts. “You would think that an establishment that makes as much money as Busboys would have set in place a reading series with a respectful pay scale for writers,” Ellis said. A week later, a prominent Washington-born poet and photographer, Thomas Sayers Ellis, copped to the theft in the Washington Post, claiming he yanked the Langston in protest of Busboys’ unfair compensation for poets who conduct reading events. Protest DC || Eats || Jobs || Events || Housing || Interns || Marketplace || CirclejerkDC || Beer || Vegan/Vegetarian DC || DC Pokemon Go || DC & Baltimore r4r || DC Parents || DC Over 30 || New DC Girls || District History Meme-free, Tailor-free, Tattoo-free, and Cannon-free since 9/20/23.Earlier this month, a life-size cardboard standup of Langston Hughes in a busboy uniform went missing from the Busboys & Poets on 14th Street NW. NoVA || Maryland || Baltimore || MoCo || PG || Anne Arundel || Silver Spring || Georgetown University || UMD || American || GWU || GMU || Gallaudet || Rockville || Howard University || Catholic UniversityĭC Defenders || Spirit || Caps || Nats || Commanders || Wizards || DC United || Mystics || Justice || Running! || Bicycles! || Motorcycles! Reporting drug use for security clearances Interested in holding an AMA? Message us! For an explanation, please see this post. Exemptions may be granted by modmailing the mod team. ![]() No editorialized titles (if you post an article, use the title of that article)Ĭommon questions must not be easily answered by recent threads, the wiki, or a Google searchĪll posts about crime are automatically locked. ![]() ![]() Posts inquiring about housing or neighborhoods should be asked in the "Casual Questions" megathread After opening the flagship location at 14th and V Streets, NW, the neighboring residents and progressive community embraced Busboys, particularly activists. No advertisement/buying/selling/job/solicitation/survey posts STICKY: Moving to DC? | Visitor's Guide | FAQ | Rules OFFICIAL VISITOR'S GUIDE Rules:
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