South Philly Barbacoa’s #Right2Work dinner series is doing a national tour

It looks like this past February’s #ADayWithoutImmigrants may have just been a trial run for a more organized effort coming up.

As Billy Penn reported last month, a whole bunch of restaurants around the Philly area are closing again on May 1 — International Workers’ Day — to advocate for how important immigrants are to the livelihood of our country. A D.C.-based online donation platform called Spendrise has compiled a list of restaurants participating, complete with an option to show your support by donating to each restaurant.

Of course, South Philly Barbacoa, one of Bon Appetit’s best restaurants of 2016 and an outspoken supporter of undocumented workers’ rights through owners Ben Miller and Cristina Martinez, is on that list of participating restaurants.

But you won’t find the husband and wife at their restaurant this May 1: They’ll be in New York City at Downtown Art for the first stop of the national expansion of their #Right2Work dinner and discussion series focused on undocumented workers’ rights, especially in the food industry.

Register for the event here.

The idea of dinners as places for productive conversation is becoming an increasingly popular idea, but the national push of the #Right2Work series is also bringing along an activist mission, specifically in the form of pushing NYC City Council to pass a resolution similar to the one Philly recently passed.

According to a press release, “this resolution asks that the city recognize every person’s fundamental right to earn a living, regardless of immigration status, and affirm their commitment to protect and secure a safe and dignified workplace for all.”

This kind of resolution will be presented in each city the dinner is hosted. The next one is planned for Detroit.