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


  • Black Alliance For Peace
    The Meaning of October 7th: An Oppressed People Will Always Find a Way to Resist Oppression
    09 Oct 2024
    Black Alliance for Peace will never abandon the Rights of Palestinian People to Resist Zionist Colonialism “By Any Means Necessary”
  • Orisanmi Burton
    An open letter to prison officials on the censorship of Tip of the Spear
    09 Oct 2024
    Orisanmi Birton's groundbreaking book, Tip of the Spear, has been listed as contraband in prisons across the country, not only preventing incarcerated people from accessing the book but punishing…
  • Kit Klarenburg
    Gilbert Bigio: Israel's Man in Haiti and the Architect Behind the US Migrant Crisis
    09 Oct 2024
    Billionaire oligarch Gilbert Bigio, is well know as one of the forces of influence that allow for shipments of arms to enter the country, provide cover for the western-backed gangs, and…
  • Max Ajl
    Dismantling Green Colonialism: Stages of a Just Transition?
    09 Oct 2024
    Dismantling Green Colonialism: Energy and Climate Justice in the Arab Region has received much critical acclaim since its publication with Pluto Press in October 2023. Here, while acknowledging…
  • Recognized Movement
    Open letter to President Abinader: We call for compliance with the Constitution and an end to denationalization and racial discrimination
    09 Oct 2024
    September marked eleven years since the Dominican Republic passed the law that revoked the citizenship of millions of Dominican people with Haitian heritage. The government still maintains that the…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us