Part cafe, part bookstore, park community gathering place, the shop first opened in 2005 by an Iraqi-American artist and activist and has now grown to six locations throughout D.C. Driven by community activism, Busboys and Poets hosts a full range of events, from science talks to poetry open mics. It draws its name from Langston Hughes, who worked as a hotel busboy in the 1920s before gaining recognition as one of America’s greatest 20th-century poets.