In the coffeehouse, you'll find delicious fair trade, organic coffee and espresso as well as a selection of vegan and vegetarian food. In the bookstore, you'll find books and periodicals on a wide range of topics, with a focus on radical politics and culture. We also offer free internet access, both through our wireless network and our public internet terminals.
If you are looking for information about 2640, the community events space we run in conjunction with St. John's United Methodist Church in Charles Village, please have a look at the 2640 website .
If you are looking for information about the Baltimore Free School, another project that's spun off from the Red Emma's Collective, please check out the Free School website.
Audio: "The People's Pension: The Struggle to Defend Social Security Since Reagan"
by Eric Laursen
On Friday, May 11th, 2012, Eric Laursen spoke about his groundbreaking historical account and analysis of the three decade struggle over Social Security, entitled: People's Pension: The Struggle to Defend Social Security Since Reagan. Social Security is arguably the most successful anti-poverty social program that the US has ever institutionalized and upkept, Laursen details how Social Security is the "glue" that binds Americans together as a community; as well as unveils in-depth research on revelations from: the Clinton Administration's plan to radically restructure Social Security, the retirement crisis, the personalities that have driven the three-decade long struggle to restructure/eliminate/defend Social Security, and the newest challenges we face in this recent financial crisis. In the aftermath of the debt reduction deal between Barack Obama and congressional Republicans, the 2012 election promises to be a kind of referendum on the size and role of government—including economic support programs like Social Security.In one of the most important books of the year, questions asked include: Why is the most popular and successful social program in American history, responsible for lifting generations out of poverty, now under continual assault by elements of the U.S. political elite? And, what has changed in American politics, society, and economics to make this possible? In the end, Laursen suggests that the only solution is taking Social Security out of the government's hands altogether. Here is the audio from this important discussion.
Asia's Unknown Uprisings Volume 1: South Korean Social Movements in the 20th Century
by George Katsiaficas
One of the things that surprised me about the wave of radical theory that accompanied the arc of popular struggle running from Tunis through Cairo and on to Madison and NYC was that no one seemed to be mentioning George Katsiaficas, and his concept of the Eros Effect: for years, he has consistently and creatively excavated the history of revolutions from below, naming by Eros---in a nod to his mentor Herbert Marcuse---that contagious logic of popular power that overturns decades of repression in hours, spontaneously builds new socieities founded in love and mutual aid, and jumps like a wildfire across the global and historical imagination.
For the past decade or so, Katsiaficas has been at work on what's likely to be his most important work: a recovery, for the English speaking world, of the tremendous social movements that have been sweeping East Asia: this is a necessary corrective, since few people have even heard of the most famous moments of this recent history: there's so much talk about North Korean dictatorship---but our abysmally complicit media frames rarely acknowledge the long and sordid history of authoritarian rule in South Korea propped up by the United States.
The resistance in South Korea deserves to be legendary (and making it so is the task of Katsiaficas' first volume): do you know about Gwangju for instance? A commune in 1980 South Korea's sixth largest society, taken over by its citizens---who when faced with state repression built from scratch in a few days a popular army, and who were brutally supressed with hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of casualties when the state retook the city at gunpoint?
We've been waiting for this book for years---not to mention the still forthcoming the second volume, which expands the focus from the Korean pennisula to study popular revolts across the region, promises even more gamechanging revolutionary history.
A Review: "Moving Politics: Emotion and ACT UP's Fight Against AIDS"
by Deborah Gould
Published in 2009, Moving Politics: Emotion and ACT UP's Fight Against AIDS has become an immediate fundamental read for understanding modern social movements. At our ally project, The Baltimore Indypendent Reader, local activist, Mark Gunnery, writes a stunning review of the book. He discusses the writer's, Deborah Gould, analysis and historical accounting of the ACT UP movement, as well as her critiques on the importance of emotions in social movements. An important read for anyone interested in: social movement history/radical activism, queer history, and the importance of emotions in the worlds we create.
And, of course, we, here at ol' Red Emma's, carry copies of Moving Politics, if his review moves you to read it for yourself.
Our annual holiday window display ...
by Red Emma's
Photos of our beautiful red & black holiday window display, featuring some of our favorite picks for this year's non-denominational anarchist gift-giving season!
Mobilizing and Organizing From Below: Schedule up!
For eight years, the collective behind Red Emma’s has been keeping a self-managed, consensus-operated, and worker-owned radical space open seven days a week and nearly 365 days a year, while organizing hundreds and hundreds of events, and spinning off new projects like 2640 and the Baltimore Free School. We’ve done this all with a collective of between 10 and 15 people, all working out of dedication to the project and the ideals of direct democracy and autonomous political action it represents.
While our collective is still strong, it’s not strong enough: we haven’t taken on quite enough new collective members in the last year or so to keep up with the work we need to do to keep the doors open, the coffee flowing, and the books stocked; we’re spread thin, and we need your help!
Normally our process of taking on new collective members has been a pretty loose and organic one; while this has given us a lot of time to get to know people, we’ve decided to switch for the time being to a process we hope can be faster and more intentional: we want to get a few more people on board to help keep the space thriving and insure we’ll be here for years to come.
Who are we looking for?
You thrive in collective settings and love participatory decision making
You can commit to working a minimum of five hours a week in the store and can attend a weekly collective meeting on Sunday evenings
You’ll be in Baltimore and able to work with the project for at least a year
You understand that while we are currently able to make a share of the money earned by selling books and coffee available to people working in the store, we also tend to put ethics before maximizing profit, and spend money collectively on organizing and building radical infrastructure. In practice, this means we earn about $5-$6/hr—-far from ideal as a primary source of income, but it’s more sustainable than depending on purely volunteer labor.
We’re especially (but not exclusively) interested in people who can bring special skills to the table besides a willingness to sling coffee for the revolution; in particular and in no particular order, we need graphic design wizards, outreach geniuses, free software fanatics, book geeks, food nerds, media makers, event promoters and lots more. And above all we need people who want to bring their political commitments to bear on helping self-manage a very visible space dedicated to advancing the cause of collective liberation. We’re also hoping that this new, streamlined and more intentional process will help us diversify the collective—-the more voices and ideas in the project, the stronger it becomes.
(Read on for the details of how this all works)
Punk Rock Karaoke! March 30!
Back by popular demand, Liam Flynn's Ale House hosts a night of PUNK ROCK KARAOKE! And, it's a fundraiser for Red Emma's. What could be better? All the classics, and some new stuff too. Don't miss it! Friday, March 30 | 9PM - 2AM | at Liam Flynn's Ale House (22 W. North Ave.)
Mobilizing and Organizing From Below: June 1st-3rd in Baltimore
Mobilizing and Organizing from Below will be a gathering of activists and organizers, workers and parents, revolutionaries and militants and radicals and dissenters, dedicated to increasing our ability to come together and challenge the systems of exploitation and oppression that have taken hold of the world. The conference will be a weekend of intensive, horizontally-organized political education, in which we can share skills, analyze the problems we face, and pose difficult questions. It will also provide a space for people from different traditions to come together and recognize the depth of our similarities and the richness of our differences; a space for reflection and discussion, distinct from both the chaotic excitement of spontaneous mass actions and the intense demands of long-term organizing work.
Community Celebration to honor the life and work of Eric James / JahHannibal Abba-Ra
As many of you know, Red Emma's was deeply moved by the sudden passing of our dear friend and comrade Eric James (JahHannibal Abba-Ra): writer, artist, musician, activist, and gentle spirit, as well as the partner of our collective member, Pat Berry. Please join Red Emma's and the members of R.A.M. for a celebration of Eric's life and work. Let's come together as a collective not to mourn, but to celebrate and remember with a sharing of words, sounds, images, and food. This event is free and open to anyone touched by Eric's life, but donations for his family are encouraged.
Thursday May 24, 7PM @ 2640
The Ric Pfeffer lecture: David Harvey
The Ric Pfeffer Lecture commemorates the life and work of Ric Pfeffer, a committed social justice activist and advocate who passed away in 2002. 2640 and Red Emma's have been honored to host several of the most recent Pfeffer lectures.
For this year's Lecture, which will commemorate the tenth anniversary of Ric's passing, David Harvey will be returning to Baltimore. David Harvey, who developed his ideas around the geography of anticapitalism to a large extent during his extended residence in Baltimore, gave the first Pfeffer memorial lecture in 2002, where he spoke about "The New Imperialism." David Harvey is a Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) and Director of The Center for Place, Culture and Politics. In 1982, while professor at Johns Hopkins, he was one of the founders of the Progressive Action Center. In the same year he published The Limits to Capital. With the publication of this work and 14 more, Harvey developed a Marxian theoretical approach he calls "historical-geographical materialism." Harvey gave the first Pfeffer memorial lecture in 2002, where he spoke about “The New Imperialism.” He is returning 10 years later for the culminating lecture of the series to discuss the dynamics of resistance against the dominance of finance capital as in the Occupy Wall Street Movement. His forthcoming book is Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution.
The Ric Pfeffer Lecture Fund was established in memory of Ric Pfeffer, former Johns Hopkins professor, attorney in the field of worker health and safety, activist in the peace and civil rights movements, and founding member of the Progressive Action Center. The Fund honors his legacy by providing support for radical and progressive lectures that analyze current conditions and promote activism. The event will be free, but donations to the lecture fund—a project of the amazing Research Associates Foundation—are always welcome.
Friday May 25, 7PM @ 2640
Indyreader Spring Party: Fundraiser and Celebration for the Launch of our New Website and Release of our New Print Issue, "Occupy the Economy"
Baltimore's Indypendent Reader invites you to our Spring party! We have a lot to celebrate... the launch of our new website, indyreader.org, and the release of our latest print edition, "Occupy the Economy." We hope you celebrate with us and contribute to our fundraising drive, where we hope to raise $10,000 by the end of the summer. We have big dreams for the project . . . purchasing media-making equipment, providing financial support to journalists, printing papers, and more. All of this so that we can continue to bring you social justice-oriented and community-created news. In order to realize our dreams, we need your help. So please join us in celebration at out Spring party. The door fee will be $5. (Of course, we will not say no if you donate more!) Beverages and assorted tasty treats (there will be vegan and gluten-free options!) will be sold. There will also be musical performances, drag performances, burlesque, dance, comedy, and so much more. We look forward to seeing you there!
Baltimore's Indypendent Reader invites you to our Spring party! We have a lot to celebrate... the launch of our new website, indyreader.org, and the release of our latest print edition, "Occupy the Economy."
We hope you celebrate with us and contribute to our fundraisin...g drive, where we hope to raise $10,000 by the end of June. We have big dreams for the project . . . purchasing media-making equipment, providing financial support to journalists, printing papers, and more. All of this so that we can continue to bring you social justice-oriented and community-created news.
In order to realize our dreams, we need your help. So please join us in celebration at out Spring party. The door fee will be $5, sliding scale. (Of course, we will not say no if you donate more!)
Confirmed performers include: Ryan Harvey
Mark Gunnery
Emmanuel
Kate Lally
and more TBA!
Beer, wine, soda, juice, and assorted tasty treats (there will be vegan and gluten-free options!) will be sold. There will also be musical performances, drag performances, burlesque, dance, comedy, and so much more. We look forward to seeing you there!
Also, after you celebrate with us, please head over to the "Get Yer Bearings... The Sock Hop!" It's a fundraiser for our dear friends: Bearings Bike Project. We definitely plan on partying with them after our event! http://www.facebook.com/events/304911576260248
TASTY TREATS UPDATE: While we're very stoked that many of our wonderful friends, that also happen to be fabulous bakers, have committed to donating special treats for the bake sale at this event (thank you friends)- we wanted to particularly announce that the epic Brunies Bakery is donating: - her UNBELIEVABLE vegan peanut butter blondies - and her MIND-BLOWING (and we mean MIND-BLOWING) fried and risen vegan donuts!!!!
If you've never had Brunies baked goods- be prepared to have your socks completely knocked off! (And we're not exaggerating.)
Contrary to our plans last year or so, Red Emma's is not at the moment actively pursuing a new location for the bookstore and cafe. Instead, at least for the time being, we are concentrating our efforts on keeping the existing space thriving, but also on the 2640 project, a partnership between Red Emma's and St. John's United Methodist Church in Charles Village, where both parties are cooperating to restore the (beautiful) building at 2640 St. Paul St. and to put this building to work as a space for social justice organizing and independent culture. Like most big projects, this is going to take a lot of money and a lot of work - if you're able to offer either, please drop us a line at 2640 [at] redemmas.org.
800 St. Paul St. * Baltimore, MD 21202 * (410) 230-0450 * info@redemmas.org
Red Emma's is open Monday through Friday from 10AM-10PM, Saturday from 10AM-8PM, and Sunday from 10AM-6PM. Our weekly collective meetings are Sunday at 7PM, and are open to anyone interested in the project, except for the first Sunday of every month, which is closed to everyone except collective members.
Red Emma's is part of IU 660 of the Industrial Workers of the World, one of the only unions to recognize that worker collectives can stand in solidarity with those fighting the bosses as part of one big union.
