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

Cooperation Jackson's Kali Akuno: Elections Don’t Necessarily Change a Damn Thing
Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
06 Dec 2017
🖨️ Print Article

A key strategist among the Black radicals that were behind the election of two Black mayors in Jackson, Mississippi, says his fellow activists have a decision to make: “Are we trying to be a good steward of the rules as they exist -- which I think is a complete waste of time -- or are we pushing for transformation of society?” asked Kali Akuno, of Cooperation Jackson. Akuno warned against falling into “the Syriza trap,” in which radicals wind up carrying out the policies imposed by banks and big business.

Cooperation Jackson

Related Podcasts

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
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
After Winning the Election Do We Govern the Place or Transform It? Kali Akuno on the Lessons of Jackson MS So Far
26 October 2017
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…

More Stories


  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SPEECH: Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference, February 14, 2026
    25 Feb 2026
    "A civilization that uses its principles for trickery and deceit is a dying civilization.”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Stand Up for Sudan
    25 Feb 2026
    The US is funding a genocide. Of course we all know that, but how many of us know about Sudan?
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Kid growing up under growing fascism
    25 Feb 2026
    "Kid growing up under growing fascism" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    The World Does Need to Stop Singling Out Israel… By Holding it Accountable
    25 Feb 2026
    Israel has been singled out for immunity rather than accountability, exposing the "rules-based order" as a farce.
  • Tamanisha J. John , Kevin Edmonds
    The Caribbean People’s Debt to Cuba
    25 Feb 2026
    Caribbean governments are betraying Cuba through silence and compliance with U.S. empire. The only way to challenge this failure of leadership is for the people to build an anti-imperialist movement.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us