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


  • Howard University’s Removal of Classics is a Spiritual Catastrophe
    Cornel West and Jeremy Tate
    Howard University’s Removal of Classics is a Spiritual Catastrophe
    28 Apr 2021
    Upon learning to read while enslaved, Frederick Douglass began his great journey of emancipation, as such journeys always begin, in the mind.
  • Alice Speri
    Police killings of Black Americans amount to crimes against humanity, international inquiry finds
    28 Apr 2021
    The systematic killing and maiming of unarmed African Americans by police amount to crimes against humanity that should be investigated and prosecuted under international law, an inquiry into US po
  • The Defund the Police Movement Takes Aim at Fusion Centers and Mass Surveillance
    Alice Speri
    The Defund the Police Movement Takes Aim at Fusion Centers and Mass Surveillance
    28 Apr 2021
    LEGISLATORS IN MAINE could vote as early as next week on the first bill in the country seeking to shut down a fusion center: the intelligence-sharing partnerships between loca
  • The MOVE Bombing and the Callous Handling of Black Remains
    By Jessica Parr
    The MOVE Bombing and the Callous Handling of Black Remains
    28 Apr 2021
    The 1985 MOVE bombing by the Philadelphia Police shocked and devastated a city, leaving destruction
  • Freedom Rider: Gun Violence Starts at the Top
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Gun Violence Starts at the Top
    21 Apr 2021
    If the state reserves the right to commit mass murder no one should be surprised that the people follow suit.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us