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


  • Slaveholders Who Signed the Declaration of Independence: Washington, Jefferson, and the People they Owned
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor , Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Slaveholders Who Signed the Declaration of Independence: Washington, Jefferson, and the People they Owned
    06 Jul 2022
    Black Agenda Report editors Margaret Kimberley and Ann Garrison discuss the personal and institutional hypocrisy which allowed those who said, "All men are created to equal," to be slaveholders.
  • Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Massacre of African Migrants by U.S.- Backed Moroccan Armed Forces
    Black Alliance For Peace
    Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Massacre of African Migrants by U.S.- Backed Moroccan Armed Forces
    06 Jul 2022
    The U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM, is no friend of Africans. The recent killing of migrants by AFRICOM trained Moroccan forces proves that the U.S. state presence on the continent is of no benefit to…
  • low-coup: 4th of July weak end   (For Amiri)
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    low-coup: 4th of July weak end (For Amiri)
    06 Jul 2022
    low-coup: 4th of July weak end (For Amiri)
  • Abolishing the Family Policing System: An Interview with Joyce McMillan
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    Abolishing the Family Policing System: An Interview with Joyce McMillan
    06 Jul 2022
    Roberto Sirvent speaks to Joyce McMillan, an advocate for parental rights in the family policing system. So called "child welfare" disproportionately impacts and harms Black people.
  • BAR Book Forum: Emilio Amideo’s Book, “Queer Tidalectics”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Emilio Amideo’s Book, “Queer Tidalectics”
    06 Jul 2022
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Emilio Amideo. Amideo is a research fellow in English language and translation at…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us