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


  • Capitalism and Racism Entwined
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Capitalism and Racism Entwined
    15 Sep 2020
    “There’s long been a recognition of this intertwining of slavery, white supremacy, racism and capitalism,” said Dr.
  • Only Community Control Can Stop Police Atrocities
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Only Community Control Can Stop Police Atrocities
    15 Sep 2020
    A Minneapolis judge is moving forward with jury selection in the 2nd degree murder trial of the cop that killed George Floyd.
  • Sept 19: A Nationwide Day of Protest, and of Dialogue on Community Control of Police
    Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
    Sept 19: A Nationwide Day of Protest, and of Dialogue on Community Control of Police
    10 Sep 2020
    Community control puts us on the path to both defunding and abolishing the police – so why are many  Black Lives Matter chapters withholding support?
  • Freedom Rider: Losers, Suckers and War
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: Losers, Suckers and War
    09 Sep 2020
    Democrats are up in arms over Trump’s latest mouth-burst, but the truth is that both corporate parties have made the people suckers for endless, “bipartisan” wars.
  • The NBA Strike Brings the Counterinsurgency War on Black Liberation Movement to Basketball
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    The NBA Strike Brings the Counterinsurgency War on Black Liberation Movement to Basketball
    09 Sep 2020
    When NBA players threatened to disrupt business as usual the ruling class deployed perhaps its most effective weapon of counterinsurgency: Barack Obama.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us