Last night, the National Book Award winners were announced at the 67^th annual National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner in New York City at Cipriani Wall Street:

Fiction: Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad

Nonfiction: Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

Poetry: Daniel Borzutzky, The Performance of Becoming Human

Young People’s Literature: John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (artist), March: Book Three

The emcee of the event was Larry Wilmore, formerly of Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show.

Representative John Lewis (D-GA) gave an acceptance speech in which he spoke about being unable to get a library card as a child in Alabama because he was black. “We were told that the library was for whites only and not for coloreds.”

Colson Whitehead, in his acceptance remarks, commented on the current political state in America. “We’re happy in here; outside is the blasted hellhole wasteland of Trumpland. Be kind to everybody, make art and fight the power.”

Poet Terrance Hayes presented the Literarian Award to Cave Canem, a nonprofit writer’s center dedicated to helping black poets. In his speech, Hayes said, “We have seen a black president, and we are seeing what kind of president comes after a black president. We have seen and are still seeing black men and women being killed by people sworn to protect them.”

Hayes will also be a featured presenter at the 2017 AWP Conference & Bookfair in Washington, DC in February.

The entire ceremony was streamed live and can be watched on the NBA’s Facebook page.