Life & Work with Alissa Redmond

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alissa Redmond. They and their team shared their story with us below:

Alissa Redmond is a Rowan County resident & owner of South Main Book Company in Salisbury, NC. She previously served in India, Afghanistan, Washington DC, Hong Kong, and Bolivia as a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State. She bought the bookstore in December 2019 as she and her 4-year-old daughter were evacuated from La Paz, Bolivia, due to political instability. She will always be grateful to this community for providing a safe haven for her family then and subsequently during the COVID pandemic. 

She also worked in the City of New Orleans’ Mayor’s Office for Health Policy post-Hurricane Katrina and volunteered with the Peace Corps to teach English in Fiji. 

A graduate of the NC School of Science and Math, UNC-Wilmington, and Duke University (Master’s Degree in Public Policy), Alissa is proud to raise her eight and thirteen-year-old daughters in their home state of North Carolina. She is, and will forever be, a preacher’s kid at heart. 

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I purchased an independent bookstore in Salisbury, North Carolina, after taking leave from my career as a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State. After tours in Afghanistan, India, and other cities overseas, I was eager to give my four-year-old daughter stability and sidewalks for a while as she learned what it means to be an American at such an interesting moment in the history of our nation. 

Flash forward four months: my grandmother passed away; COVID-19 loomed large on the horizon for so many others, particularly those living in retirement communities like hers. I was grateful to be near her towards the end and to live in a town so fiercely loyal to my bookstore in its hour of need. The store was deemed essential by the government of North Carolina as a purveyor of educational materials and remained open for business throughout the pandemic. To honor my beloved grandma and show appreciation to all the customers who phoned or emailed in their orders, my daughter and I filled the Little Free Libraries in Rowan County with over 500 new books directly from our shelves. I knew so many people were struggling, and this felt like a great opportunity to give a little back to a community that warmly welcomed us with open arms and tremendous support. 

Zoom ahead another month or so, and here I am, planning to flood the Little Free Libraries of Rowan County again—this time with antiracist titles in response to a boycott some white supremacists launched against my store. My bookstore was added to an anonymously created Facebook page (since taken down) called “Boycott Salisbury” and its list of businesses to boycott “into bankruptcy.” The boycott targeted over 20 local businesses which organizers deemed overtly supportive of moving a Confederate monument away from the center of our downtown (currently perhaps 100 yards from my storefront in Salisbury) and was called in response to the Salisbury’s City Council unanimous vote in favor of moving the monument. The council’s vote was supported by public safety concerns surrounding the statue in the wake of a nonlethal shooting, committed by a white supremacist, in front of a crowd gathered nearby the week prior. 

The boycott comically backfired. I had the most profitable week in my ownership of the store, and I doubled down to leverage community support with my new Little Free Library initiative announced over GoFundMe. 

I had originally hoped to order at least 100 books by the end of this campaign. Twenty-four hours in, I ordered 800 books, raised my financial goal 5 times, and felt so moved by the generosity of my social network. I’ve already raised over $3000 to buy antiracist titles for the Little Free Libraries in my county. This has been such an incredible learning experience for me, and the work is just beginning. I hope my story has given you a little fire in your belly as well. Small steps can make huge ripples, especially in these interesting days, yet silence can halt these movements just as quickly. 

Let us not be silent. 

Let’s flood Rowan County’s Little Free Libraries with beautiful narratives of the world as we want it to be and know we can take action to achieve this together. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Every few years, my independent bookstore in Salisbury ends up on a boycott list by a racist Facebook group. 

In 2020, I agreed that Salisbury’s city council should remove a Confederate monument from our town square. The “Confederate Wire” then added us to a list of small businesses to boycott. Instead, we were inundated with customers who wanted to prove our town’s economy is not driven by racism. While exceedingly stressful, this incident ended on a positive note for my store. 

Last week, we held an inaugural “Readers for Change” meeting to discuss nearby Faith, N.C.’s Fourth of July parade, which allowed Confederate “soldiers” to shoot weapons over attendees. Some at the meeting were unaware of Faith’s past as a “sundown town” and the home of a former Grand Dragon of the N.C. KKK. 

We encouraged participants to write to corporate sponsors of the parade and ask them to put money toward promoting anti-racism in our community. So far, three of the seven major ones have pledged to recalibrate future sponsorships. 

Our social media sites were flooded with vile comments, and bigots tried to argue that I was the true racist in this situation. 

There is a new social justice mural in my bookstore, just above the shelves, that contains an image of protesters, including one holding a “Black Lives Matter” sign. Before the paint was dry, racist trolls began leaving one-starred reviews of my business online, arguing that I was ignorant of long-debunked falsehoods about Black Lives Matter organizers. 

In the world these sad folks live in, I apparently perpetuate a culture war with my own brand of hatred, and I should return to where I came from — which is this state of North Carolina. I was born in Wilmington and raised primarily in Durham. 

I recently read “Waging a Good War” by Thomas E. Ricks. He’s a military historian who uses that lens to examine decisions made by actors in civil rights movement of the 1960s. It is particularly striking that civil rights leaders were routinely asked by “allies” to wait — wait for your seats on buses and at lunch counters, wait to ask for voting rights. They were told don’t ask for more than society can provide right now. 

Thankfully, most organizers refused to listen, noting there may never be an “appropriate” time to make good trouble nor a time when no risk would be involved. To never stand for change means change will simply never materialize. 

I choose to no longer seethe with anger as America’s collective consciousness reckons with its tortured past. We face a reckoning. We can choose progress or to slide so far backwards that we will destroy the work our ancestors fought for. 

No troll will tear down a business that I have worked hard to grow because they don’t agree with me saying that Black Lives Matter. America’s minorities have never experienced the privileges white people are born possessing. This system of oppression should not continue for another moment longer, and its flags and uniforms should be relegated to museums. 

Meanwhile, you want to know my business plan? Look no further than the art in my store and the books on my shelves. Like a fantasy novelist, I am world-building from this space. We are reading from a magic carpet, floating with frogs in teacup balloons across mountainous terrain, heading to the next great adventure. Art, literature, equality — the beauty on display in my store is worth all it costs. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Alissa Redmond is a Rowan County resident & owner of South Main Book Company in Salisbury, NC. I am seeking your support and vote this November 5 to become the next Rowan County Commissioner. As a proud resident of this dynamic hub of innovators in business, government, and culture, I am excited about the opportunity to build upon our tremendous history together. 

My priorities as commissioner are to encourage economic development, talent retention, veterans support, community development, and literacy. 

Fostering Growth and Opportunity 

Vision for Growth: My priority as commissioner is to welcome and encourage economic development. Rowan County is uniquely positioned with the majority of available land along the I-85 corridor between Charlotte and Greensboro/Winston-Salem corridor, presenting vast opportunities for development. 

Background in Global Business: With experience connecting with global industry leaders as a diplomat, I appreciate seeking outside opportunities to fuel growth here at home. But I also understand the vital importance of investing in our own grassroots, as small business owners pay local taxes while their money circulates more actively in our community than money spent online or with large corporations. I am comfortable speaking with industry leaders from here or overseas in order to build a stronger economy for our county. 

Investing in Our Future 

Renewal School District: As the only renewal school district in North Carolina, Rowan-Salisbury Schools (RSS) are at the forefront of transformative public education. We must attract and retain top talent within Rowan-Salisbury Schools, a vital employer and partner in our county. 

Personal Commitment: As a parent of RSS students and a volunteer and board member for Communities in Schools-Rowan, I am dedicated to supporting our schools, including being a strong supporter of a school bond on the ballot in 2024; our children are worth investing in. 

Caring for Our Heroes 

Veterans’ Well-being: Having served in the national security branch, I am committed to supporting veterans, especially in accessing mental health resources, opioid addiction rehabilitation, and assistance with homelessness. 

Advocacy for Veterans: Our veterans deserve our utmost support for their sacrifice. Members of the military and foreign affairs community devote their attention to serving, defending, and protecting our democracy, and they deserve all the same care and devotion to preserving their health and social networks when they return to our community. 

Building a Vibrant and Welcoming Community 

Placemaking and Community Growth: Rowan County planners have displayed incredible talent over centuries, connecting our remarkable community. I want to do all I can to build off their efforts, to encourage more young families to reside and work here, to support and grow existing arts and cultural opportunities, to protect our small businesses and sources of investigative journalism as they flourish. 

Addressing the Housing Crisis: As innovative pacemakers, I believe we can creatively address a growing crisis in available housing, as we have substantial land assets, low taxes, and a desirable location to migrate towards (as already evidenced by trends during the COVID pandemic). 

Promoting a Culture of Learning and Growth 

Advocacy for Literacy: As a board member of the Rowan County Literacy Council, I am committed to promoting reading as a key activity for all citizens, fostering a culture of curiosity and open-mindedness. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://redmond4rowan.com/ and https://southmainbookcompany.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southmainbookcompany/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southmainbookcompany/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alissa-redmond-7641246/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@southmainbookcompany?lang=en