MAY THERE ALWAYS BE WORDS BETWEEN US
May There Always Be Words Between Us explores how a legendary Washington, DC open mic, It’s Your Mug, nourished a groundswell of poets and artist collectives. The film follows Toni Asante Lightfoot, a charismatic DC native who founded and hosted the series at a time when the city’s creative life thrived in small, Black-owned spaces—long before social media or slam poetry went mainstream. Every Tuesday, artists gathered to hone their craft and build a community rooted in a shared reverence for the word. From this space emerged voices and collectives that would shape contemporary literature and performance, including Ta-Nehisi Coates, Toni Blackman, the Poem-Cees, and Modern Urban Griots. Through archival footage and intimate oral histories, the film traces how one weekly gathering became a crucible for artistic expression and a testament to the enduring power of community in shaping culture.
UPCOMING
WORLD PREMIERE ON JULY 22nd
6 pm @ Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
901 G st. NW, Washington DC
“The community was absolutely clear that we exist here together. And that is what was so special during that era of poetry, is the way we built together, the way we made each other better.”
- Toni Blackman
