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


  •  US is Enemy of Haitian Democracy
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    US is Enemy of Haitian Democracy
    09 Mar 2021
    “The US is responsible for the complete destabilization of Haitian democracy and the complete loss of Haitian sovereignty,” said Dr Jemima Pierre, an anthropologist in the African
  • When Movements Embrace Police Abolition, the Rich Resurrect “Reform”
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    When Movements Embrace Police Abolition, the Rich Resurrect “Reform”
    09 Mar 2021
    “As soon as movements emerge that identify the normal operations of the police” and other capitalist institutions as the problem, the regime directs the language of the debate towards reform, said
  • Free All Political, Elderly and Covid-Infected Prisoners, Say Mumia Supporters
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Free All Political, Elderly and Covid-Infected Prisoners, Say Mumia Supporters
    09 Mar 2021
    Dr Johanna Fernandez and other advocates for Mumia Abu Jamal asked the city of Philadelphia to “stand with common humanity who face illness” and “bring our elderly population home,
  • About the Ray Wood 'Confession' 
    Zayid Muhammad
    About the Ray Wood 'Confession' 
    03 Mar 2021
    The Malcolm X Commemoration Committee speaks on Ray Wood’s deathbed 'non-confession' to crimes committed before and during the great leader’s assassination.
  • The Biden Administration Spent Black History Month Deporting Black Immigrants: Why Aren’t People in the Streets? 
    Tina Vásquez
    The Biden Administration Spent Black History Month Deporting Black Immigrants: Why Aren’t People in the Streets? 
    03 Mar 2021
    Black immigrants are among the most vulnerable and we always have a target on our back and it has been no different under Biden.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us