Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

After Winning the Election Do We Govern the Place or Transform It? Kali Akuno on the Lessons of Jackson MS So Far
Bruce A. Dixon, BAR managing editor
26 Oct 2017
🖨️ Print Article

This is a hasty and cleaned up version of Kali Akuno's remarks at the Movement School for Revolutionaries, which was hosted by Cooperation Jackson in Jackson Mississippi on October 21, 2017. My apologies for the previous less accessible version and for this one too. Haven't edited video in a long while. Will do better next time, I promise.

Among much else, Akuno summarizes the long history of struggle, including electoral struggle to which Jackson MS and Cooperation Jackson are heirs. He outlines the factors behind Cooperation Jackson's break with City Hall in Jackson and with the Democratic party. He examines the problems encountered by left movements which win elections in this neoliberal era -- can the limited powers of local government be harnessed to transform the economy and peoples lives, or are local officials merely rubber stamps and friendly faces for the forces of austerity, perpetual war and privatization. Akuno also touches upon the connection between local and global politics, and frankly assesses the prospects of human, economic and social transformation from the front lines of Jackson Mississippi.

Cooperation Jackson

Related Podcasts

Cooperation Jackson's Kali Akuno: Elections Don’t Necessarily Change a Damn Thing
Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
Cooperation Jackson's Kali Akuno: Elections Don’t Necessarily Change a Damn Thing
06 December 2017
A key strategist among the Black radicals that were behind the election of two Black mayors in Jackson, Mississippi, says his fellow activists have
Coope ra tion Jackson: Reclaiming Democracy and Building a Solidarity Economy in Mississippi and Beyond
This Is Hell
Cooperation Jackson: Reclaiming Democracy and Building a Solidarity Economy in Mississippi and Beyond
01 November 2017
Kali Akuno and Ajamu Nangwaya discuss building a solidarity economy at Cooperation Jack

More Stories


  • Exonerations in New York State
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Exonerations in New York State
    01 Sep 2023
    Nick Encalada-Malinowski is Director of the Civil Rights Union campaign at Vocal-NY.
  • The Climate Crisis Will End When Capitalism Ends
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The Climate Crisis Will End When Capitalism Ends
    30 Aug 2023
    The climate emergency won't end because of heartfelt pleas to the people and the interests who created the crisis. Ecocide will stop when capitalism ends.
  • EDITORIAL: Joanne Little: American Goes on Trial, Freedomways, 1975
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    EDITORIAL: Joanne Little: American Goes on Trial, Freedomways, 1975
    30 Aug 2023
    To mark the last days of Black August, we reprint below Freedomways’ 1975 editorial about Joanne Little, a Black woman indicted for killing her white prison guard and would-be rapist.
  • Blue Flag Over Las Anod: A Victory for Somali Nationalists
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Blue Flag Over Las Anod: A Victory for Somali Nationalists
    30 Aug 2023
    Somali nationalists claim victory and raise the Somali flag above the city of Las Anod.
  • Counter-insurgency and Black Studies: An Interview with Tea Troutman
    Tea Troutman , Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    Counter-insurgency and Black Studies: An Interview with Tea Troutman
    30 Aug 2023
    Counter-insurgency and Black Studies: An Interview with Tea Troutman
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us