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

  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Congo “Coup” Was Reality TV; Morehouse Congo Protest Was Real
    22 May 2024
    Morehouse College professors protested US complicity in Congo Genocide by unfurling a Congolese flag behind Joe Biden as he addressed the 2024 graduating class. A brief, quixotic coup took place in…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist , ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    International Criminal Court Arrest Warrants Requested for Israeli Officials and Hamas
    22 May 2024
    Ajamu Baraka, Black Agenda Report contributing editor, discusses his thoughts on the request for International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas officials with Executive…
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Boss Tweet’s Trial V. Trial of a Freedom Fighter
    22 May 2024
    "Boss Tweet’s Trial V. Trial of a Freedom Fighter" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    We Win Peace When We Struggle for It: Cuba and the Zone of Peace
    22 May 2024
    Cuba hosted its international peace seminar during May Day celebrations on the island.
  • Essam Elkorghli
    Africa Liberation Day and the Necessity of Revisiting Our Compass
    22 May 2024
    African Liberation Day should serve as a time to ground ourselves in the history of our people and take those lessons with us as we continue the struggle toward liberation.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us