Lizz Rene, a University of Georgia graduate and now D.C.-area homeowner, is the founder of Po’ Up! Cards, a card-based Black collegiate drinking game available at Busboys and Poets and Gift Shop near Union Market.
Why did you create PO’ UP!? I created Po' Up! card game in 2020 to celebrate Black excellence. In the midst of ongoing police violence against Black people, one motto prevailed that became a catalyst for the launch of the game, “Black joy is a form of resistance.” Po’ Up! Cards is more than a drinking card game — it is a unique outlet to center joy and celebrate Black Americans graduating college at unprecedented rates. As a Black alumna myself, it was extremely important that Black college students and fellow alumni be able to center joy in a bold new way — a Black collegiate drinking card game.
What was your process for developing the categories and questions? Every year, I co-host a holiday party for friends from college. In December 2019, I wanted to shake up our usual party structure of eating, drinking and playing classic board games. I grabbed a few note cards and brainstormed 20 questions specific to our shared college experiences. After a few hours of nostalgia-filled conversations and drinking, my best friend pulled me to the side and said, “You should make this into a card game.” This became the foundation of the nine categories and 100 questions and prompts featured in Po’ Up! card game.
For our readers who might not be familiar, how do you define PO’ UP? Po’ Up! is another way of saying, “pour up,” or “drink” in the Black community. Some may be familiar with a popular song called, “Swimming Pools (Drank)” by Grammy award-winning artist, Kendrick Lamar. “Po’ Up! (drank)” is repeated throughout the chorus. While Kendrick Lamar is not the first person to coin the term “Po’ Up!,” he popularized it back in 2012 when I was in college. To this day, the song brings me back to my college days.
How did you land in Busboys & Poets stores? When identifying local retailers to feature PO’ UP! Cards, I wanted to ensure a level of synergy between my brand and their mission. I admire Busboys & Poets because of their unwavering support for social justice issues. This alignment was central to my outreach to the store buyer. Po’ Up! Card Game is an unapologetically Black collegiate drinking card game. Busboys & Poets is a [Black Indigenous and people of color]-owned community gathering place where racial and cultural connections are consciously uplifted.
What was your go-to college drinking game? When I was in college, our drinking games were very unstructured and quite messy. Flip cup, beer pong and king’s cup (also known as Circle of Death) were games we played regularly at tailgates and parties. Today, I am a homeowner in the Washington region who still loves to have friends over for game nights with a bit more organization and a lot less clean up.
You have a special edition to celebrate the University of Georgia. Are you planning any editions for D.C. schools? Our long-term goal is to partner with colleges and universities across the United States to develop special editions in partnership with respective students and alumni. I would love for the next edition to be in partnership with D.C.-area schools, such as Howard University, University of the District of Columbia and Georgetown, among others. With the creation of those special editions, I would like to donate a portion of the proceeds to scholarships fostering and celebrating the success of Black college students.
What’s next for you? Right now I’m focused on scaling Po’ Up! Cards by securing funding, continuing to build relationships and strengthening strategies for growth while being opportunistic. My next goal is getting our cards in Black-owned wine shops, bookstores or brick and mortars in every major city across the country — and for Po' Up! Card Game to become a household staple game that’s available on the shelves of large retail stores everywhere. The overarching vision is to build generational wealth and reinvest in my community.