December 2005 represented the one-year anniversary of Red Emma's as a fully-functional radical bookstore, and organic, fair trade coffeeshop and eatery run by a collective. The collective staffs the store collaboratively without a boss or owner.

Red Emma's offers well-stocked book sections on Surrealism, Philosophy, Situationalism, and Marxism alongside Labor History, American Politics, Gender, Fiction, Globalization, and several other topics. The idea for Red Emma's arose from the demise of Black Planet Books in Fells Point, and a handful of volunteers began creating and planning the 800 St. Paul Street store in earnest in February 2004. Red Emma's opened as a books-only venue on November 15th, 2004, and after passing health inspection, it became fully operational as a coffeeshop and bookstore in mid-December 2004.

The shop is doing well, and while the operation began as a mostly volunteer one, it now compensates those who volunteer above five hours per week, according to collective members John and Kate. In addition, the layout of the space has been opened up. Less tables sit across from the coffee bar, and a couch formerly by the door is gone. The counter bar has five stools where urban seafarers can sidle up, sit down, and exchange news over frothy black brew cargo'd in from afar.

Computers offering free Internet still flank the wall by the front door. Past that, two magazine racks feature art and political titles such as The Ecologist, In These Times, Green Anarchy, and art magazines Third Floor Project and Bomb. Baked goods for sale are local, and some Red Emma's collective members are interested in setting up a separate, sustainable vegan goods operation in 2006.

The big 2006 project for Red Emma's is organizing a Mid-Atlantic Radical Bookfair to be held from June 30 to July 2 at the CENTER STAGE theater in Baltimore. The fair with gather speakers, bookstores, infoshops, activists, workshop facilitators, and participants from around the region. Red Emma's has a Web page for it at redemmas.org/bookfair/2006.

By 7 p.m. that cold December Monday night, the crowd had turned over and a different crowd had filtered in--quieter--likely in for the folk concert soon to start. Two men perused the books in the three, tall black shelves. Two young women at the bar ordered food and hot chais while a guy sipped soup near the register. Two people used the computers. What appeared to be a tidy homeless man sat calmly in a chair by the magazine rack, bobbing his head to the ambient music being played in the store.

Red Emma's, which has a Web site at www.Redemmas.org, was created to provide a community space, information spot, and meeting place for the progressive Baltimore community while working as a place where collective members and others could create change through concrete action. It intends to be "the threat of a good example," "a business [run] in a democratic way," and a place where we "do things in consonance with our ideals," says collective member John. It is meant to "promote the idea of collectivism and collective projects in Baltimore," says collective member Kate. It can introduce those who are not "radically-minded" to new ideas, says another collective member. It helps support fair trade and organic businesses by selling their wares. Other collective members and regulars could add more.

Since opening, Red Emma's has phased out some foods on its former menu, says collective member Kate, either because they were not fully organic or not cost-effective as organic products, such as avocados in winter. Kate says building up a rapport with local organic suppliers and farmers over the last year has been crucial to running an all-organic, fair trade shop. Since December 2004, some prices have gone up due to food costs. Coffee remains $1:50 for a house cup, while a bagel and cream cheese has gone from $1.50 to $2.



As that December snow settled, the folk concert starts. Slug's Revenge plays a set with his acoustic guitar. Counterfiet Matt is scheduled to go on next and notes that Red Emma's is used by diverse Baltimore groups. He has played here a couple of times himself, and most of his songs are about Baltimore and politics--most often both. He says he used to write about all types of topics, but now chooses to hew closer to home. "I don't want to write about stuff I haven't lived anymore," he says. About Red Emma's, well, the combination of art hangings, regular poetry and book readings, and music makes it "a really cool space."