Solange and Esperanza Spalding were among the artists who performed on Thursday night (Jan. 19) at the Busboys and Poets' Peace Ball at the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C. on the eve of Donald Trump's inauguration. The event officially referred to as "Voices of Hope and Resistance," was the third gathering of its kind since 2009.
Organizer Andy Shallal explained to NPR earlier this week that it is intended as a "gathering of artists and activists and progressives to sort of take a moment and pause and assess all the successes we’ve had for the past few years - successes around the environment, around marriage equality, around women’s rights... Sometimes in very difficult times, we forget to stop and celebrate and take that pause.”
In addition to Solange and Spalding, the party featured a number of activists, politicians and journalists, including scholar/activist Angela Davis, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, author Alice Walker, actors Ashley Judd and Danny Glover and journalists/commentators Van Jones and Melissa Harris-Perry, according to New York magazine.
Solange did a short set of songs from A Seat at the Table, including "Don't Touch My Hair," "Cranes in the Sky" and "Weary."
Check out some footage of the event:
