Chokwe Antar Lumumba

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Chokwe Lumumba
Chokwe Antar Lumumba (1).jpg
53rd Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi
Assumed office
July 3, 2017
Preceded byTony Yarber
Personal details
Born
Chokwe Antar Lumumba

(1983-03-29) March 29, 1983 (age 38)
Political partyDemocratic
RelativesChokwe Lumumba (father)
EducationTuskegee University (BA)
Texas Southern University (JD)

Chokwe Antar Lumumba (born March 29, 1983) is an American attorney, activist, politician serving as the 53rd[1] mayor of Jackson, Mississippi.[2]

He was first elected in 2017. In the primary, Lumumba soundly[3] won the Democratic nomination, defeating incumbent mayor Tony Yarber and John Horhn, a state senator.[4] Lumumba went on to win the general election in a landslide. Lumumba is a self-described Progressive.[5]

He is the son of former mayor Chokwe Lumumba, who served briefly before his death in 2014.[6] Lumumba has two children with his wife, Ebony.[7]

Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi[]

In the summer of 2018, Lumumba attended Michael Bloomberg's "Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative."[8][9] The City of Jackson noted that the Initiative was created by Bloomberg to train leaders to "manage the complexities of running a city, and to have opportunities to learn from one another." Four months later, in November 2018, Bloomberg awarded the City of Jackson $1 million to create art highlighting the Bloomberg food insecurity crisis in Jackson.[10] Lumumba won reelection in 2021 with almost seventy percent of the vote.

Jackson Zoo crisis[]

In April 2018, when the Jackson Zoo announced plans to consider moving from its current West Jackson location, Lumumba joined Working Together Jackson, the Zoo Area Progressive Partnership, Rosemont Missionary Baptist Church and other community groups, in an effort to prevent the zoo from moving. He described the proposed plan as disingenuous and disrespectful.[11] A city investigation discovered that the Jackson Zoological Society had mismanaged funds and failed to pay $6 million in water bills.[12]

The mayor took direct control of the zoo and approved $200,000 to renovate it.[13] The zoo reopened in August 2020 under city control.[14]

Out of City Politics[]

In February 2020, Lumumba endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[15] Bernie Sanders likewise endorsed Lumumba for reelection in 2021.[16] July 29, 2021, it was announced via Nina Turner's social media that Mayor Lumumba had endorsed her in Ohio's 11th Congressional District 2021 Special Election for U.S. Congress in Ohio's 11th Congressional District, the seat for which was left empty when representative Marcia Fudge was selected by President Biden for HUD Secretary. The race garnered nationwide attention as it split the Democratic party among its progressive and conservative wings.[17]

References[]

  1. ^ "Office of the Mayor". Jackson, MS. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  2. ^ Williams, Angela (July 3, 2017). "Chokwe Antar Lumumba sworn in as Jackson mayor". WAPT. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "Some Mayors Defeated in Mississippi Municipal Primaries". US News and World Report. The Associated Press. May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  4. ^ Nichols, John (May 3, 2017). "Jackson, Mississippi, Just Nominated Radical Activist Chokwe Antar Lumumba to Be the Next Mayor". The Nation. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  5. ^ Lartey, Jamiles (September 11, 2017). "A revolutionary, not a liberal: can a radical black mayor bring change to Mississippi?". The Guardian. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  6. ^ Marans, Daniel (May 3, 2017). "Progressive Attorney Unseats Business-Friendly Mississippi Mayor". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  7. ^ Vicory, Justin (March 2, 2018). "Is it a boy or girl? Jackson mayor's family grows by one Wednesday". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  8. ^ "Mayor Lumumba in New York City for Leadership Training". Jackson Free Press. July 24, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  9. ^ "Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Announces Second Class of Mayors Go Back to School". July 25, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  10. ^ "Jackson awarded $1 million from Michael Bloomberg for art project to spotlight food insecurity". November 29, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  11. ^ "Mayor Calls Zoo's Move 'Disingenuous,' 'Disrespectful' to West Jackson". April 13, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  12. ^ Vicory, Justin. "Settlement reached: Jackson gets zoo animals, drops $6M lawsuit". The Clarion-Ledger.
  13. ^ "Jackson Zoo to temporarily close for renovations". September 27, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  14. ^ Vicory, Justin. "'Hopeful and excited': Jackson Zoo to reopen after 11-month shutdown". The Clarion-Ledger.
  15. ^ Gallant, Jacob (February 28, 2020). "Mayor Lumumba endorses Bernie Sanders for president". WLBT. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  16. ^ Carter, Josh (March 29, 2021). "Bernie Sanders endorses Mayor Lumumba for reelection". WLBT. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  17. ^ Mutnick, Ally (July 12, 2021). "New poll shows Nina Turner's lead shrinking in Ohio special election". Politico.

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Jackson
2017–present 		Incumbent
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