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


  • Ramzy Baroud
    Why Didn’t Iran Put Gaza on the Table? A Difficult Answer
    03 Jun 2026
    From Gaza to Tehran, from the politics of resistance to the limits of regional diplomacy, a pressing question has resurfaced amid the 2026 war: why was Palestine not explicitly placed at the center…
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio May 29, 2026
    29 May 2026
    In this week’s segment, we talk about the latest iterations of immigration enforcement and their connections to racist public policy, mass incarceration, and the settler colonial foundations of the…
  • Malcolm X and Fidel Castro
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Solidarity and the Cuban Revolution
    29 May 2026
    Our guest is Dr. Rosemari Mealy. She is the author of "Fidel and Malcolm: Memories of a Meeting," which analyzes the significance of the 1960 meeting between Fidel Castro and Malcolm X. She has lived…
  • Delaney Hall
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Racism, Mass Incarceration, Settler Colonialism and Immigration Enforcement
    29 May 2026
    The Trump administration is accelerating policies meant not just to deport undocumented people, but to restrict every avenue of legal immigration from the Global South. Abraham Paulos is Deputy…
  • Ajamu Baraka
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist , José Luis Granados Ceja , Kurt Hackbarth
    'The people who most love the game won't be able to go': Ajamu Baraka on Resistance to the World Cup
    27 May 2026
    In this episode of El Taller, hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth sit down with Ajamu Baraka, national organizer and spokesperson for the Black Alliance for Peace, a former vice-…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us