Jackson Rising: The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Black Self-Determination in Jackson, Mississippi

by Kali Akuno (Editor)

Mississippi, the poorest state in the U.S. with the highest percentage of Black people, a history of vicious racial terror and concurrent Black resistance is the backdrop and context for the drama captured in this collection of essays Jackson The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Self-Determination in Jackson Mississippi . Undeterred by the uncertainty, anxiety and fear brought about by the steady deterioration of the neoliberal order over the last few years, the response from Black activists of Jackson, Mississippi has been to organize. Inspired by the rich history of struggle and resistance in Mississippi and committed to the vision of the Jackson-Kush Plan , these activists are building institutions rooted in community power that combine politics and economic development into an alternative model for change, while addressing real, immediate needs of the people. The experiences and analyses in this compelling collection reflect the creative power that is unleashed when political struggle is grounded by a worldview freed from the inherent contradictions and limitations of reform liberalism. As such, Jackson Rising is ultimately a story about a process that is organized and controlled by Black people who are openly declaring that their political project is committed to decolonization and socialism. And within those broad strategic and ethical objectives, Jackson Rising is also a project unapologetically committed to self-determination for people of African descent in Mississippi and the South. Jackson Rising is an exploration of our experiment in radical social transformation and governance that is directly challenging the imperatives of neoliberalism and the logic and structures of the capitalist system in Jackson and beyond. Undeterred by the uncertainty, anxiety and fear brought about by the steady deterioration of the neoliberal order over the last few years, the response from radical activists in Jackson, Mississippi has been to concentrate on building a radical anti-capitalist alternative from the ground up. Inspired by the rich history of struggle and resistance in Mississippi and committed to the vision of the Jackson-Kush Plan , these activists are building institutions rooted in community power that combine politics and economic development into an alternative model for change, while addressing real, immediate needs of the people. The experiences and analyses in this compelling collection reflect the creative power that is unleashed when political struggle is grounded by a worldview freed from the inherent contradictions and limitations of reform liberalism. As such, Jackson Rising is ultimately a story about a process that is organized and controlled by Black working people who are openly declaring that their political project is committed to economic democracy and radical participatory governance. Jackson is rising and emerging as a model for resistance and visioning beyond the challenges of the present. It stands as the dynamic counter to economic redundancy, political marginalization, and systematic state violence. Jackson Rising contains contributions from well-known community activists and organizers Hakima Abbas, Kali Akuno, Ajamu Baraka Thandisizwe Chimurenga, Kamau Franklin, Sacajawea Hall, Rukia Lumumba, Ajamu Nangwaya, Max Rameau, Makani Themba, and Jazmine Walker and Elandria Williams, as well as noted journalists and academics including Sara Bernard, Carl Davidson, Bruce A. Dixon, Laura Flanders, Katie Gilbert, Jessica Gordan-Nembhard, Michael Siegel, and Bhaskar Sunkara.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Race, Economics, History, The United States Of America, American History

312 pages, Paperback

Published November 10, 2017

Reviews

[Randall Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historically black people would never have survived “the brutality of chattel slavery and Jim Crow apartheid without practicing solidarity and cooperation in organized formal ways.” The best-known modern-day equivalent is the highly esteemed Cooperation Jackson, which is the subject of “Jackson Rising” by Kali Akuno. While Cooperative Jackson acknowledges the capitalist system is bent on its own destruction, it still tries to develop Mississippi’s link (sadly lacking in production clusters and infrastructure networks) in US capitalist production. To do so, it puts forth the Jackson-Kush plan, a US version of the Mondragon Basque Coop that provides 75,000 jobs. The Jackson-Kush plan offers “self-determination and economic democracy in Mississippi and the Black Belt region of the US South.” Kali draws on Freire, Bakunin, Malatesta, Malcolm X, Amilcar Cabral, Kropotkin, Ella Baker, Fanny Lou Hamer, WEB DuBois, Marcus Garvey, A Philip Randolph, Emilia Romagna’s cooperative economy, Chiapas, Haiti, Venezuela, and even Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. I always liked the Miles Davis record, “Amandla” and in this book, I learned Amandla means “power” in both Xhosa and Zulu. …and that “Amandla Awethru” means Power to the People which was adopted by the Black Panther Party. Cool to know. I learned from Cabral about how revolutionary democracy requires the people’s involvement on ALL issues that concern them, and how the people need to see a meaningful change. And I learned from Malcolm X that it’s not about having the answers, it’s about working with others to find the answers. Part of Cooperation Jackson’s mission is, in the words of Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, “Educate, motivate, organize”. From the mayor’s perspective, that means creating the rules that incoming business must adhere to in Jackson - for example, 50% of the subcontracting goes to “minorities”. The need for coop aid becomes clear when you learn the US only gives a paltry 7 million to help US agricultural cooperatives, while Walmart gets 7.8 billion dollars. The books conclusions are clear, you can’t have political independence w/o growing your own food, owning your own land and buildings. But in the end, “cooperatives not only offer economic benefits but also social and health benefits.” If Cooperation Jackson succeeds, it will be able to establish “an ecosystem of worker-owned cooperatives in an urban area in the Southern United States.” You have to create a solidarity economy to keep your most vulnerable citizens away from loan sharks and predatory capitalism. Mississippi also has the highest unemployment rate in the US. And so, the Cooperation Jackson project continues to establish its Mondragon model for everyone in the US, and nobody here does it better. Kudos to Kali…

[Camille McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, not for its writing style but because it is about actual, concrete ways to change our economic and social conditions and make a better world, even in one of the most destitute parts of the United States, Jackson, Mississippi.
I've been to Mississippi, since my grandfather is from there, and it is a depressing place. There is rampant poverty, and Hurricane Katrina's effects could still be felt the last time I was there, in 2011. I have never been to Jackson, however, and now I am curious to visit.
Kali Akuno and the other contributors to this book talk about their visions for the city, but also about the obstacles they have faced along the way, especially their decision to put someone from Cooperation Jackson on city council and how that was a difficult decision and continues to be a balancing act.
I am inspired and amazed at this group's ability to foster direct democratic participation, the clarity of their plans, and the details of their vision. It is amazing to see a group actually planning how to collectively solve their problems and transition their city while still in the middle of capitalism's clutches. Of course, they are having a difficult time realizing their plans, but every step of the way emphasizes capitalism's contradictions and their ability to convey the hardships they are facing and how they deal with them is so helpful to others who might try to follow in their footsteps.
There were quite a few typos and the writing was dry and repetitive at times. It is a collection of essays, though, so this is to be expected, and the fact that they put out this book on their own, plus the quality of their ideas, makes up for any difficulties I had in getting through it.
The people of Asheville face similar threats of gentrification and have a lot to learn from Cooperation Jackson. I am hopeful that we can learn from them and put some of their ideas into practice here, as well.

[Soph Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether or not you agree with MXGM/Lumumba/Akuno/the contributors of this book’s strategic analysis, it should be required reading for the sheer depth of analysis on the forces at play, strategic insight into potential for power-building, and spitfire journalistic narrative on a key left experiment in Jackson, MS. I think that there are debates worth having on the strategic conclusions drawn by the organizations in question (and I also think that some people reading this book/following Cooperation Jackson’s work are cherry-picking solutions for their own local communities to their own detriment), but regardless it is a necessary voice in the fight for ecosocialism and a new world.

[Therese Brink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jackson, MS was and is a place where an experiment in democracy and socialism is emerging. In a series of over 20 essays the reader learns the history of Jackson, Mississippi's foray into an alternative economic city that truly values the majority Black population, is eco-friendly and non-capitalistic as much as possible.

Much is repeated in these essays, so parts of the book get rather tedious. However, if one wants to know about the bolts and nuts on how to start a society based upon cooperation with other humans and the environment, then this book is a good place to start.

Much of this book is heavy reading, filled with lots of left-wing jargon, but much of this is necessary because the authors of this essay are writing about the past and present Jackson, MS which is beginning an alternate decolonial, eco-aware and socialist vision of society.

If you are truly a leftie (not liberal Democrat), then you may find inspiration in these essays.

[Max Rameau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visionary book with (mostly) fantastic essays. Not only a history of Jackson Rising, but a roadmap for the future of cooperative economics as the first stage to socialism. Highly recommended.

[Pete Dolack · Rating 4 out of 5]

If thinking big were all it took to be a success, then Cooperation Jackson would be one of the biggest successes ever seen. It is far too early to know what the future will hold for what must be the most thorough-going experiment in economic democracy in the United States today, but no one can possibly accuse Cooperation Jackson of not having a clear vision nor of not being serious students of history.

The history, intentions and current struggles of this most interesting project are laid out in detail in the book. And although the untimely, sudden death of one of the project’s leaders, Chokwe Lumumba, was a significant blow, by no means has the project come to a halt. That is one of the consistent messages of Jackson Rising, which contains essays by several writers, both participants and sympathetic journalists. It also a project intended for replication elsewhere, for socialism in one city is not possible, of which Jackson’s cooperators are acutely aware.

Although, as other reviewers here have noted, Jackson Rising can be redundant and is unfortunately littered with typos that an editor could have fixed, the book provides an excellent tool for understanding this extraordinary program, providing several voices, mostly of those involved in the work, and although a work of optimism the book is frank in discussing the problems and obstacles Cooperation Jackson faces. Readers wanting to gain a firm understanding of the project, and the breathtaking range of influences it blends, should read this book.

[Lawrence Grandpre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not what I expect, which was to be honest a hagiography. Lots of useful information on some of the real difficulties and lessons of trying to use electoral politics as a tool of revolutionary politics. Is a combination of essays and as such can be a bit redundant but has some real great nuggets of the interrelations between Pan Afrikan, ecosocialist, cooperative economics, and electoral politics.

[Nadav David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers the revolutionary and inspiring vision and practice of Cooperation Jackson with a lot of detail, context and nuance. The flow of the essays is a little hard to follow and were pretty repetitive at times, but definitely still worth a read for organizers and people trying to build a solidarity economy / socialism / world beyond capitalism.

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

The work these folks are doing in Jackson is some of the most dynamic and exciting movement building going on in the world right now. The same adjectives can not be used to describe this book which is disjointed and sorely in need of proofreading and was already wildly out of date by the time it was released. I really respect and admire these folks and I think Kali fully admits that this book is kind of a mess. A well made documentary followed by a well maintained blog/website would have been more useful for the organization and other municipalist groups around the world. I hope they maybe try to do that soon.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars because it gets pretty repetitive, but there's very little out there on this subject and it's super inspiring. Who wants to borrow it?

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ideas, exciting to read about the work that has been done to put them into practice. The book could use a solid edit.

[Jacob Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kali Akuno writes:

We have learned the extent to which governing in the neoliberal era is a ruling class project of "accumulation by dispossession" that generates private wealth by plundering public goods on all levels of government. Under present dynamics there is intense economic compulsion to govern the city as if it were a business, especially midsize cities like ours with a declining tax base and diminishing job opportunities. Rather than providing essential services, politicians ravenously search for savings like capitalists seek profits. This encourages everything from privatizing and outsourcing services, consolidating and downsizing government departments, depressing wages, and breaking unions and other forms of worker solidarity. Since there are fewer profitable ventures in the real economy, various forces of capital view the municipal state as a depository bank that they must politically capture in order to survive. This is true especially of small-business owners who are the only real faction of capital in the Black community in Jackson. The Black elite is driving the dynamic in Jackson's politics. This poses deep challenges for a radical project ultimately trying to transform the capitalist order on a local level, but which remains dependent in part on alliances with "petite bourgeois" or small-capital forces in order to win elections and govern effectively. We, along with left forces engaging in similar initiatives elsewhere, have to figure out how to win elections and govern without relying on the resources and skills of these vacillating social forces.



What Cooperation Jackson is working on is completely fascinating and inspiring. I will follow it closely into the future. Also, this video: https://youtu.be/4fi1xSUsnPo

[Karen Kohoutek · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me ages to finish; I'd read a chapter, then set it down. I ordered it in an online sale, just from the title and cover, and I think if I'd have flipped through it physically, I wouldn't have bought it. It's a bit more technical, in a way, than I was expecting, with policy and position papers about economic programs in Jackson MS, centered around worker cooperatives and People's Assemblies. However, that very nuts-and-bolts quality could make it very useful for people who are more savvy in these subjects than me, and are looking for real-life examples to follow. For me, some of it was daunting. Nonetheless, I'm glad I did read it. I especially liked the interviews with movement participants, and the more analytical essays later in the book, and I appreciated the fact that people thought the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba's black radical background would be a detriment in an election, but it was the opposite. A reminder that the conventional wisdom isn't always right, especially when people begin to understand the need for change. Sometimes being bold works!

[JRT · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of articles, essays, an analytical pieces focused on the efforts of Jackson Rising / Cooperation Jackson, the movement for socioeconomic transformation and Black self-determination in Jackson, Mississippi. The book does a tremendous job detailing the origins, objectives, and challenges of the Cooperation Jackson movement. Particularly, it focuses on the efforts of the movement to seize political power in Jackson in order to put in motion the New Afrikan Independence Movement's agenda of economic cooperation, democracy, and self-determination.

Above all, this book is a part of and supports Cooperation Jackson's effort to politically educate individuals interested in radical socioeconomic transformation. More specifically, the book aims to make clear that an alternative to capitalism is possible, even under the most destitute and oppressive circumstances. I highly recommend this book.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book serves as something more than a sketch and less than a blueprint for how we are going to transition ourselves into a better way of doing things. It does get repetitive, as a lot of the essays are covering the same things. But it is worth powering through that for the thinking and, most importantly, constant evaluation and self critique. It is worth pickup up the book just for Kali Akuno's essay toward the end and Max Rameau's essay on land. I suspect I'll be referring back to this one often, as so much of the landscape in Baltimore parallels Jackson.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bold cooperative and bottom-up urban renewal project, probably cut short by the recent death of the movement's leader elected as mayor of Jackson, but with solidly inspiring ecological and economic goals of collective participatory action. Repetitive collection of essays and articles, both internal and independent authors.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of essays, reporting, and documents detailing the project of Cooperation Jackson and other groupings in Jackson, Mississippi. Parts of it can get repetitive since most of it was previously published, but I feel like there's lot of meat and potatoes information about organizing structures here.

[Marwan Shalaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A living breathing experiment of Black self-determination in Jackson Mississippi. This book gave me hope, and taught me a lot about the details of creating a truly liberating socioeconomic project under and against capitalism.

[Nobo · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the content may be repetitive and the writing may not be perfect, the book conveys an extremely important and valuable message and describes the struggle of the involved people very well. It's the drive and actions of the people in Jackson that inspires many others.

[Betsy Hanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kali Akuno's struggle and the efforts of Operation Jackson to achieve a municipalist equity inside Jackson is really a compelling tale. He's a great storyteller, too, so look for him as a speaker and on video/podcast!.

[Redpoet · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good book with lots of good ideas, but it became repetitive.

[Noah Skocilich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would consider this book required reading for anyone who wants to be a serious part of making a better world for future generations.

[Alberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important for the movement.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting read on how cooperatives can be so much more than your local expensive organic grocery store.

[Daniel Klawitter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little repetitive in places, but such an important documentation of the struggle to build a new society in the shell of the old. Inspiring.

[Lauren Hinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is sooooo important and amazing.

[Craig Scandrett-Leatherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book on the practical-local-political struggle for economic democracy that includes a vision-plan for work cooperatives, green businesses and participatory politics. There is some duplication since chapters were written by different authors for different venues, but the overlap is well-worth it to get the variety of persectives.

[Sarita Upadhyay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some good information and inspiring ideas, but could use some serious editing help. My recommendation would be to start with some of the last essays instead of reading in the order presented.