Author: Nia Hunter

  • August Solidarity Breakfast Series at Red Emma’s

    Join the Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy for a breakfast series exploring the amazing solidarity economy enterprises that are black-led, Black-centered, and putting people, ecology, and justice before private profit. Please register for free HERE

    Our featured speaker for August is Rafiki Antarah Kabila. Rafiki is a community organizer and educator with the Black August Organizing Committee (BAOC) and George Jackson University (GJU). GJU is a prison-based liberation education initiative working to transform the U.S. Prison-Industrial Complex into the largest educational institution for New Afrikan people, offering Afro-centric studies, political education, and correspondence courses to incarcerated citizens to replace criminal mentality with collective consciousness.

    Through the BAOC, Kabila advances political and cultural education across New Afrikan communities, strengthening the culture of resistance and nation-building. His work intersects with key community development initiatives including the Autonomous Infrastructure Mission (AIM) encompassing sustainable agriculture communes (SAC), youth action programs, cooperative economics, math and science centers, community safe-zones, and emergency response networks.

    Grounded in collective work and responsibility, Kabila believes New Afrikan people must organize to meet their own basic needs. As he affirms: No one will rescue us from our national oppression but us. 

  • A New BRED Event Series

    Solidarity economy, but make it breakfast! Announcing a new morning solidarity economy series – with free breakfast – hosted by us! Come out on Thursday, May 21 at 9AM for a coffee and bagels and a conversation about what solidarity economy looks like in practice, with a focused look at black-led, black-centered, solidarity economy enterprises in Baltimore and beyond! Featuring Rodney Foxworth, social entrepreneur, executive advisor, and impact investor at the intersection of business strategy, community development finance, economic inclusion, and philanthropic innovation. Come and check it out! Registration via Eventbrite See you there!

  • 2025 Impact Report

    Thank you for supporting cooperatives in Baltimore and the surrounding areas.

  • BRED Jumpstart In The News

    BRED Jumpstart In The News

    Baltimore to Host “Co-op Jumpstart 2026” Workshop on Worker Cooperatives and Economic Democracy
  • 2026 Worker-Owned Co-op Jumpstart

    2026 Worker-Owned Co-op Jumpstart

    Worker cooperatives are more important than ever, and the Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED) Cooperative Jumpstart can give you the tools you need to go from ideation to creation. We can work together as a city and region to build a cooperative economy that makes ownership for everyone possible.

    This day is geared towards those who might be co-op curious, or even potentially want to sell their business to their employees. Are you co-op curious?

    Join BRED for a fun-filled day of conversations and workshops about the business of co-ops!

    Topics we will cover include: Starting up, co-op governance, day-to-day decision making, conflict transformation, business models, and so much more! We are ready to help you on your journey.

    Breakfast will be served by Red Emma’s Bookstore and Coffeehouse, and lunch by Mera Kitchen Collective.

    Registration is open, click HERE

    Spanish interpretation will also be available.

    **Childcare is available again this year! If you would like to have your children supervised at Impact Hub during the Jumpstart between 9:30 am and 5:00 pm on Saturday, April 11th, 2026, please complete this request form by April 8th, 2026! Parents and caregivers must also sign in and sign out during drop-off and pick-up times. They will be required to show photo ID at both drop-off and pick-up. Register HERE

    **If you are interested in sharing contact information to stay connected with other attendees post Jumpstart, please do so HERE

    baltimoreroundtable.org IG @bred.baltimore

  • EnviroCollab Reflects On Their Cooperative Conversion

    EnviroCollab Reflects On Their Cooperative Conversion

    https://landscapearchitecturemagazine.org/2025/11/19/a-thousand-percent-worth-it-a-cooperative-tells-its-conversion-story

  • Baltimore’s Co-op Movement Fetured In Baltimore Beat

    How Baltimore became a rising star in America’s worker cooperative movement

  • How Are Bookstores Connected to Organizing?

    An article by Samantha Puc talks about how independent bookstores nationwide are leading efforts in community organizing. BRED co-ops, Red Emma and Firestorm Books are featured, along with several other amazing bookstores. To read the Publishers Weekly article click here.

  • Red Emma’s Cooperative Featured In Prism Article

    Costa Beavin Pappas writes an article about the importance of independant bookstores and the role they serve during these authoritarian times. One of the bookstores featured is none other than Baltimore’s favorite bookstore, restaurant, and event space, Red Emma’s.

    https://prismreports.org/2025/11/11/independent-bookstores-literature-activism/

  • Red Emma’s In The USA Today Top 10!

    Red Emma’s In The USA Today Top 10!

    USA TODAY recently published the results of their Reader’s Choice Awards for top 10 independent bookstores. Out of all the independent bookstores in the nation, Red Emma’s came in 9th! Make sure when you stop by, you tell them congratulations!

    Read more here!

    Red Emma’s ranked #No. 9:  for Best Independent Bookstore in the 2025 USA TODAY 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards

    Photo courtesy of Red Emma's / Casey McKeel

    No. 9: Best Independent Bookstore

    Named after 19th-century radical thinker Emma Goldman, Red Emma’s in Baltimore’s Waverly neighborhood is a worker-cooperative-run bookstore and cafe dedicated to sustainability and community engagement. The store stocks titles of every genre, with a wide-ranging collection of books on civil rights, revolutionary history, and activism. Red Emma’s frequently hosts speakers, community events, and author series, while the on-site restaurant offers a plant-based menu, coffee drinks, and a full wine and cocktail bar.