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
  • omnibus

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


  • Jon Jeter
    Across the Country, Black Voters Show Signs of Abandoning Black Mayors Who Have Abandoned Them
    05 Feb 2025
    The adage that "black faces in high places won't help us" still rings true when you look at Black mayors like Karen Bass, Eric Adams, and Lori Lightfoot. Residents of their respective cities have…
  • Jacqueline Luqman
    DEI’s Swift Demise Exposes The Absurdity Of Trusting The Oppressors To Correct Themselves
    05 Feb 2025
    Donald Trump recently issued an executive order that eliminates all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government. While this act demonstrates Trump's unwavering…
  • Pablo Meriguet
    Trump announces Guantánamo Bay base expansion to detain up to 30,000 migrants
    05 Feb 2025
    The project has caused indignation in Cuba, which claims sovereignty over the Guantánamo Base, occupied more than 100 years ago by the US military.
  • Toward the African Revolution
    The Lobito Corridor: US imperialism's latest plot against the Democratic Republic of Congo
    05 Feb 2025
    The Lobito Corridor is a key piece of infrastructure western powers are flooding with capital to pursue their imperialist aggression and exploitation of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • Fayha Shalash
    Buying the West Bank: Israel’s New Annexation Method ‘Catastrophic’
    05 Feb 2025
    Israel is accelerating its annexation of the West Bank through legal maneuvers that grant settlers direct ownership of Palestinian land.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us