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SOUTHERN VOICE NOVEMBER 3/1994 Charis Books And More celebrates 20 years Eat Out... Help Out! by PAMELA EVANS As independent bookstores struggle to keep their doors open, the women at Charis Books And More are in the mood to celebrate. The femi nist bookstore and meeting place in Little Five Points is throwing a week end-long birthday party when Charis turns 20 years old this weekend. There surely are reasons to cel ebrate—survival, for one thing. Thanks to careful work by longtime part-owner Linda Bryant and the vari ous other owners/partners who have come and gone over the years, Charis has managed to weather many of the financial hardships that sometimes doom small businesses. Today, Charis is one of the leading feminist book stores in the country, with book sales placing them squarely in the top five. Yet it hasn’t always been that way. When Bryant opened Charis with Bar bara Borgman in 1974, she was more concerned with her dream than with the realities of operating a fiscally sol vent operation or being an example for other feminist bookstores to follow. A teacher at the time, Bryant was frus trated with her efforts to teach high school students to read. She dreamed of a neighbor hood store where people could rid themselves of fears and defenses. Young and old, men and women from every community would be welcomed to read, to partake in conversa tion, to sip tea, to feel safe. Without knowing it, Bryant was already defining what 20 years later Charis and other feminist bookstores across the United States would become: More than just stores, they offer books, periodicals, music, and merchan dise on their shelves. But moreover, through their commitment to community service, they also are meeting places, bulletin boards, sources for political information, and enter tainment centers. By the time feminist writer Kay Hagan began visiting the store, the direction of the business was in question. “We had gotten to a kind of strange place,” explains Hagan. “It was a time when Linda Bryant was defining her direction, just as the feminist movement was defining its direc- Charis in its early days, across the street from its current location. tion. We looked at how Charis was struc tured and how we could work within a femi nist structure and at the same time make it a capital enterprise: ‘Is it a social service to the community, or is it retail?’” Although she eventually had to follow her own dream, which was to support herself as a writer, Hagan contributed over four years to Charis and helped guide the bookstore into its present form of business for profit set within a feminist framework. Today, financial considerations are ev eryday concerns at Charis, as they are at all of the over 135 feminist bookstores across the United States. Although quick to point out that the business is healthy, Bryant wor ries about the super bookstore chains that are able to offer books at discount prices because of high-volume buying from publishers. “We are struggling to pay our bills, and so is every feminist bookstore in America,” says Bryant. “The large bookstore chains are a serious threat. It’s about survival. It’s about independent voices, voices other than the mass CONTINUES ON PAGE 18 Karuna Counseling also turns 20 In addition to Charis, November marks the 20th anniversary of another Atlanta insti tution: Karuna Counseling. Karuna celebrates the dawn of its third decade of community service on November 12, 1994, from 7 to 10 p.m., at the Atlanta Friends Meeting House in Decatur. Karuna (“compassion” in Sanskrit) began in 1974 as a task force of the Midtown YWCA’s Women’s Center, and soon there after became an independent collective. From its inception, Karuna has addressed sexism (including heterosexism), classism and rac ism through the principles of feminist psy chology, which facilitates direct communica tion through personal honesty and responsi bility, openness to others, and a commitment to egalitarian relationships. Throughout most of its history, Karuna has utilized the feminist model of decision by consensus—no small feat. By offering high-quality therapeutic services on a sliding fee scale, Karuna has always provided coun seling and support to those who otherwise may not have had access to it. Karuna’s path to maturity has been ser pentine and rich, littered with obstacles. In an early challenge, Karuna played David to the IRS’ Goliath: prior to granting tax-ex empt status, the federal agency demanded Karuna sign a statement defining homosexu ality as a pathological condition not to be promoted, facilitated or encouraged. Karuna declined to comply, and the IRS blinked, granting the collective nonprofit status. In fact, the IRS faceoff was a breeze com pared to Karuna’s own growth pangs. CONTINUES ON PAGE 22 MCI a proud sponsor of 9 FOR LIFE Wednesday, November 9th. Dine out at one of these restaurants and help Project Open Hand feed Atlantans living with AIDS. DOWNTOWN / UNDERGROUND Chow Downtown Delect ables Groundhog Tavern Hard Rock Cafe Henri’s Bakery Nikolai's Roof Ocean Club Rio Bravo Grill INTOWN / MIDTOWN A Taste of New Orleans Alon's at the Terrace Bagel Break Brasserie Au Bar Bridgetown Grill Cafe Mythology California Pizza Kitchen Chefs Cafe Chefs Grill Cowtippers Einstein’s Fat Matt's Chicken Shack Fat Matt's Rib Shack French Quarter Food Shop Houlihan's Colony Square Mary Mac's Tea Room Mick's (Midtown) Nick's Charcoal Grill Nuevo Laredo Cantina South City Kitchen The Abbey The Philly Connection The Royal Bagel Vickery’s Wendy's VIRGINIA/PONCEY HIGHLANDS American Roadhouse Atkins Park Babette's Cafe Camille's Capo's Cafe Caramba Cafe Chow Everybody's Pizza Highland Tap Mambo Restaurante Cubano Murphy's Round the Corner Pad Thai Partners Morningside Cafe RJ's Uptown Kitchen & Wine Bar Taco Mac The African Brown Bag The Dessert Place CHESHIRE BRIDGE/ BRIAR VISTA Alfredo's Italian Restaurant Dunk 'n Dine Happy Herman’s Marra's Seafood Grill Nicola's South of France BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER Sponsored by CHESHIRE BRIDGE/ PEACHTREE HILLS / BRIAR VISTA SOUTH BUCKHEAD Sundown Cafe Georgia Grille The Colonnade Gourmet Grill Imperial Fez BUCKHEAD Jim White's Half Shell 103 West Palisade's Anis Bistro Rocky's Brick Oven Pizza & Azalea Pasta Azio Bacchanalia The Coach and Six Bagelicious EMORY/DECATUR/ Basil’s Mediterranean Cafe DEKALB Beesley's of Buckhead Dooley's Restaurant Bertolini's Dusty's Barbecue Brasserie Le Coze Everybody's Pizza Buckhead Diner dagger's Cafe at Pharr Meno's New Orleans Cafe Cafe Dimitri The Philly Connection Cafe Gamay / Swissdtel Cafe Tu Tu Tango Cassis / Hotel Nikko Vtolette Wall St. Pizza Chopstix SANDY SPRINGS/ Dux's DUNWOODY Far East Cafe Arturo's Goldberg's Bagel Co. & Deli Atlanta Sour Bread Company Hal's on Old Ivy Bagel Eatery Hedgerose Heights Inn Bridgetown Grill Henri's Bakeiy Horseradish Grill Brooklyn Cafe Chequers Seafood Grill Johnny Rockets Ember's Seafood Grille La Grotta Henri's Bakery Ippolito's Johnny Rockets La Strada Grille Landmark Diner Le Rendez Vous La Paz Restaurante Cantina Lettuce Souprise You McKinnon's Louisiana Paisanos The Brickery Grill & Bar Peasant Restaurant & Bar Roasters Toni's Casa Napoli Sweet Stuff-A Dessert Cafe ROSWELL / ALPHARETTA The Bistro Altobeli's Fine italian Cuisine The Bread Market Bagelicious The Dessert Place Greenwood’s on Green St. Tom Tom Lettuce Souprise You U.S. Border Cantina Moriah's » Yakitori Den-Chan BUFORD HWY / CHAMBLEE / Paisanos Van Gogh's Restaurant & Bar DORAVILLE VININGS 57th Fighter Group Jason Lau Orient Express The Vinings Inn SOUTHSIDE AIRPORT Azteca Grill The Vinings Club COBB / SMYRNA / MARIETTA STONE MOUNTAIN Houston's The Grill Malone's Grill & Bar Mario's of Atlanta LITTLE 5 POINTS Paisonos Bridgetown Grill Eat Your Vegetables The Flying Biscuit The Bagel Bin The House of Chan WEST PACES FERRY / PEACHTREE HILLS / NORTHSIDE PARKWAY SOUTH BUCKHEAD Avanti's Italian Restaurnat Abruzzi Houston's Bella Cucina OK Cafe Snack 'N Shop Gorin's Ice Cream HtijjmllllltGlWf k FOR MORE INFORMATION. CALL PROJECT OPEN HAND AT 52W737