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


  • Warfare state of disunion
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Warfare state of disunion
    09 Mar 2022
                                                           …
  • When Did the Ukraine War Begin?
    Roger D. Harris
    When Did the Ukraine War Begin?
    08 Mar 2022
    The conflict in Ukraine did not start in February 2022. Its roots go back to the 2014 US coup against the elected president of that country.
  • #SomosLosNadie
    Lina Lucumi Mosquera and Lizeth Sinisterra Ossa
    #SomosLosNadie
    08 Mar 2022
    Francia Marquez is a Black Colombian woman, an environmentalist, and presidential candidate. Her campaign represents "the nobodies, those who have not had a choice."
  • Two Centuries of War Against Haiti!
    Berthony Dupont
    Two Centuries of War Against Haiti!
    08 Mar 2022
    The Haitian people have been targeted by more powerful nations ever since they dared to secure their freedom two hundred years ago.
  • US and Colombia Do Military Exercises with Nuclear Submarine Near Venezuela, After Sending Warship Through Taiwan Strait
    Benjamin Norton
    US and Colombia Do Military Exercises with Nuclear Submarine Near Venezuela, After Sending Warship Through Taiwan Strait
    08 Mar 2022
    Events in Ukraine have not stopped the US drive for domination.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us