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


  • Glen Ford – From Elder to Ancestor
    Ready for the Revolution
    Glen Ford – From Elder to Ancestor
    02 Aug 2021
    Ford led the way in political education. “I’m telling you these stories because that is what elders do, we remember things” - Glen Ford
  • Glen Ford and Haiti: A Tribute
    Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley
    Glen Ford and Haiti: A Tribute
    30 Jul 2021
    Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley are joined by Dr.
  • Freedom Rider: Standing with the Cuban People
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Standing with the Cuban People
    23 Jul 2021
    The current Black-centered Cuban protest operation is very well orchestrated and if Black people in this country are not careful, they will end up amplifying the dictates of U.S.
  • DOCUMENT: The Rise of Black Power in the West Indies: Walter Rodney, 1969
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    DOCUMENT: The Rise of Black Power in the West Indies: Walter Rodney, 1969
    23 Jul 2021
    Rodney succinctly demonstrates how capitalism and colonialism, and nationalism and imperialism, function to create a rigid hierarchy by which color is fused with class to keep the Black majorities
  • Joe Biden is Wrong, Capitalism IS Exploitation
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Joe Biden is Wrong, Capitalism IS Exploitation
    23 Jul 2021
    The COVID-19 pandemic has produced numerous examples of “disaster capitalism, and spectacular profits for billionaires.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us