POSTPONED: Casey Gerald — The Great Refusal: A New Vision of Resistance - with Paul E. Butler
Casey Gerald’s postponed appearance at Politics and Prose centers on *The Great Refusal: A New Vision of Resistance*, a work of cultural and political reflection about finding hope, solidarity, and agency in a society undergoing crisis. Drawing on observations from his neighborhood, personal experience, history, literature, music, mysticism, and contemporary figures, Gerald presents refusal not simply as opposition but as a path toward imagining and building a different future.
Gerald will discuss the book with Paul E. Butler, interim CEO of New America. The event is presented in partnership with New America and was scheduled as an in-person bookstore conversation.
Status: Postponed.
When: Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
Showtime: 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Politics and Prose at 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008.
Tickets: Free admission, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Event description: Gerald’s book explores how people might recognize the possibilities emerging within a troubled society and collectively reclaim the power to shape their lives and communities. The work draws on a wide-ranging cast of references, including Odysseus, D’Angelo, Sun Tzu, Simone Biles, Black writers, and desert mystics, while combining political urgency, personal reflection, spiritual inquiry, and dark humor.
Author: Casey Gerald is the author of the memoir *There Will Be No Miracles Here*, which was recognized as a best book of 2018 by NPR and *The New York Times*, and was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award and longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. His essays include “The Black Art of Escape,” selected by Longform as one of the best essays of 2019, and “Leon Bridges After Dark,” which received a 2022 National City & Regional Magazine Award.
Casey Gerald background: Before becoming a full-time writer, Gerald co-founded and led MBAs Across America. His TED Talks have been viewed more than four million times, and he opened for President Barack Obama at SXSW in 2016. A native of Oak Cliff, Texas, he attended Dallas Public Schools and Yale, where he played varsity football and co-founded the Yale Black Men’s Union. He later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Gerald is a Senior Fellow of Humanity in Action, a Presidential Leadership Scholars Fellow, and a former Aspen Words Writer-in-Residence. He serves on the board of Kickstarter, PBC, is a New America fellow, and lives in Waxahachie, Texas.
In conversation with: Paul E. Butler, interim CEO of New America. He also serves as the organization’s President and Chief Transformation Officer, overseeing efforts to expand its impact and advance work centered on racial equity. Butler holds a juris doctor from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree in African American Studies and Political Science from the University of Rochester.
Partner: New America.
Accessibility: Guests seeking accommodations or accessibility information should email events@politics-prose.com, ideally at least one week before the scheduled event date. The venue states that it will make efforts to accommodate requests received up to the time of the event.
Related book: *The Great Refusal: A New Vision of Resistance* by Casey Gerald, hardcover, published September 15, 2026, ISBN 9780316597418.
Book price: $28.00.