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


  • How the Black Education Movement Took on the Racist Schools System
    Emmanuel Onapa
    How the Black Education Movement Took on the Racist Schools System
    14 Dec 2021
    A new archive tells the story of a radical community collective formed in the 1960s to challenge the treatment of Black pupils in UK schools.
  • The Execution of Julian Assange
    Chris Hedges
    The Execution of Julian Assange
    14 Dec 2021
    Julian Assange committed empire’s greatest sin. He exposed it as a criminal enterprise. He documented its lies, callous disregard for human life, rampant corruption and innumerable war crimes.
  • AFRICOM, the US Africa Command, Tool of U.S. Global Hegemony
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    AFRICOM, the US Africa Command, Tool of U.S. Global Hegemony
    08 Dec 2021
    The U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM, is a tool of destabilization for the US/EU/NATO axis of domination.
  • AFRICOM, the US Africa Command, Tool of U.S. Global Hegemony
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    AFRICOM, the US Africa Command, Tool of U.S. Global Hegemony
    08 Dec 2021
    The U.S. Africa Command, AFRICOM, is a tool of destabilization for the US/EU/NATO axis of domination.
  • Democratic Party Betrayal, Abortion, and the Supreme Court
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Democratic Party Betrayal, Abortion, and the Supreme Court
    08 Dec 2021
    Democrats have been fooled into thinking that only the courts can protect abortion rights. In fact, legislation could protect abortion permanently, but their party has refused to do that.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us