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

  • No to the New Cold war with China
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    No to the New Cold war with China
    29 Jul 2020
    The African radical, anti-imperialist, internationalist movement, sees the Chinese state and the Chinese people much differently than the U.S. state and its ruling class.
  • The low Barr-Boss Tweet Rapid Response to COVID-19
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    The low Barr-Boss Tweet Rapid Response to COVID-19
    29 Jul 2020
    “If they come for me in the morning, they will come for you in the night.” â€• Angela Y. Davis
  • Tearing Down Black America
    Brent Cebul
    Tearing Down Black America
    29 Jul 2020
    More than half the 1.2 million Americans displaced by “urban renewal” were Black.
  • Airbrushing Revolution for the Sake of Abolition 
    Joy James
    Airbrushing Revolution for the Sake of Abolition 
    29 Jul 2020
    “Interest convergence” and “pragmatic compromise” are euphemisms for what might better be called opportunism and truth-avoidance.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Choudhry BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    29 Jul 2020
    This week cutting through the corporate media buzz on US fascism was on your minds.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us