Three blocks from Busboys and Poets on 14th Street and V, an overflow of supporters stood outside in the chilling Tuesday night, listening to renowned world activist and scholar Dr. Angela Davis’s words on Palestine’s freedom and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The event, days before Davis’s 80th birthday on Jan. 26, was part of the restaurant chain’s Palestine Week, running from Jan. 18-25. The weeklong series included dialogues with Palestinian authors, poets, and community organizers showcasing their culture, history, music, and resistance to the Israeli occupation.
It was a full house inside the original Busboys and Poets, and keffiyehs, a traditional scarf symbolizing the Palestinian resistance, decorated the space. One attending donning a keffiyeh, Read Jarrar, was accompanied by his two children. He said it’s important his children connect with their heritage and see the solidarity shown to Palestine.
“I want my children to have a connection with their homeland, and to think about our people back home who do not have the access and privilege we have here in D.C. We have a responsibility to speak up,” said Jarrar.
Yaffa, a trans Indigenous Palestinian poet, opened Davis’s discussion with a poem from their poetry collection, “Blood Orange.” The collection raises funds for queer and trans people in Palestine.
“Our minds warp under the weight of injustice and spilled blood, gaslighting and erasure. The weight of Indigenous genocide fastened to our belts, released only when we are,” recited Yaffah from their poem “On our Way.”
Yaffa said they’ve lost over 180 family members in Gaza since the war broke out. For Yaffa, centering queer and trans Palestinians during the war is especially important.
Andy Shallal, owner of Busboys and Poets, began the discussion with Davis querying the Black Liberation movement and its historical link to the Palestinian struggle. She recalled Malcolm X’s visit to Palestine, naming several more Black leaders in the 1960s who stood in solidarity with Palestinians. Davis herself received letters from Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails offering their solidarity when she was on trial in 1970.
In Davis’ words, the liberation of Black people was the liberation of all people.
“For virtually all of my political life, Palestine was always key to recognizing the globality of our struggles,” said Davis.
The conversation shifted to address South Africa’s case against Israel before the International Court of Justice on the case of genocide. Davis explained that South Africa has often been the hope of the world, and Black activists from the U.S. were a part of the anti-apartheid movement and celebrated Nelson Mandela’s presidential election.
The struggle in South Africa was more than overturning the regime of apartheid, but rather, “standing up against global capitalism,” Davis explained.
Davis recalled the historical campaigns against genocide and the term’s resonance with Black Americans in the 1950s. She added that there were Black activists who felt it was possible to go before the United Nations and charge the U.S. government with complicity and genocide against people of African descent.
She challenged the U.S.’ definition of democracy, and particularly as it relates to Americans with Palestinians.
“In what sense was the United States of America the first democracy? It was a democracy that was exclusionary. It excluded the vast majority of people who inhabit this land,” she said. “Those of us who want to see democracy in the U.S. should really stand with our comrades and friends in Palestine to fight for justice for all.”
Davis told the crowd about her visit to Palestine, and said she was amazed by the strong desire for knowledge in the young Palestinians. Education was so valued that even under the worst crises, Palestinians continued to learn. “They create schools in cafes and universities in restaurants,” she said, adding that she knew this was necessary to bring back to America’s liberation struggle.
The event was livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. One of the attendees said his friends in Gaza were tuned into the discussion. He asked Davis what she could offer to their dying hope during the war, and she referenced Mariame Kaba’s definition of hope, who argued that “hope is a discipline.”
“I think in so many ways, Palestinians have provided hope to the entire world. And it is our responsibility to generate hope for the struggle for a free Palestine,” said Davis.
Shallal said the intention behind Palestine Week was to raise awareness and humanize the Palestinian people after witnessing the dehumanization and erasure the people in Gaza and the West Bank have faced under the Israeli occupation.
The celebrated civil rights movement ended the night expressing gratitude for the overwhelming support for the event and reminded her listeners of the power of collective struggle.
“We need to come together like this not only to heal, but to feel a sense of the power within our hands when we do all come together.”