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Chokwe Antar Lumumba

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Chokwe Lumumba
53rd Mayor of Jackson
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 3, 2017
Preceded byTony Yarber
Personal details
Born (1983-03-29) March 29, 1983 (age 41)
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseEbony Lumumba
Children2
RelativesChokwe Lumumba (father)
EducationTuskegee University (BA)
Texas Southern University (JD)

Chokwe Antar Lumumba (born March 29, 1983) is an American attorney, activist, and politician serving as the 53rd mayor[1] of Jackson, Mississippi,[2] the 7th consecutive African-American to hold the position. In 2024, Lumumba and other officials in the state were indicted on corruption charges.[3]

He was first elected in 2017. In the primary election, Lumumba soundly[4] won the Democratic nomination, defeating both incumbent mayor Tony Yarber and State Senator John Horhn.[5] Lumumba went on to win the general election in a landslide. He is a self-described progressive and socialist.[6][7] Lumumba has also referred to himself as a political revolutionary.[8]

He is the son of former mayor and Black nationalist activist Chokwe Lumumba, who served briefly as mayor of Jackson before his death in 2014.[9]

Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi

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Lumumba was elected mayor in June 2017 with 93% of the vote. The Nation commented that "Lumumba lit up the left press with his promise—delivered later that month in a speech at the People's Summit in Chicago—to make Jackson 'the most radical city on the planet.'"[citation needed]

In summer 2018, Lumumba attended Michael Bloomberg's "Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative."[10][11] 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 gave the City of Jackson $1 million to create art spotlighting food insecurity.[12] Lumumba won reelection in 2021 with almost seventy percent of the vote.

Jackson Zoo crisis

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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.[13] A city investigation discovered that the Jackson Zoological Society had mismanaged funds and failed to pay $6 million in water bills.[14]

Lumumba took direct control of the zoo and approved $200,000 to renovate it.[15] The zoo reopened in August 2020 under city control.[16]

Jackson water crisis

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In 2019, over 3 billion U.S. gallons (11 gigaliters) of raw sewage was released into the Pearl River, leading to the local government telling residents to avoid contact with the water by swimming or fishing.

In 2020, following a record-breaking amount of rain during the early months of the year, the city's sewage system once again overflowed and led to 1⁄2 billion U.S. gallons (1.9 gigaliters) of raw sewage, as well as 5.7 billion U.S. gallons (22 gigaliters) of treated sewage, being dumped into the Pearl River.[17]

In March 2021, Lumumba wrote to Mississippi state governor Tate Reeves requesting $47M in aid[17] needed to make the urgently needed repairs and updates to the water infrastructure system in Jackson.

In August 2022, Lumumba declared a water system emergency following the failure of the largest water treatment plant in Jackson. The crisis was caused by decades of mishandled and out-of-date water and waste infrastructure that led to at least 2,300 U.S. gallons (8,700 liters) of sewage overflowing into the Pearl River. Overflowing water from the Ross Barnett Reservoir and the Pearl River caused the water treatment plant in Jackson to completely fail. With the system down, many of the 153,000 residents of Jackson were left without clean drinking water, or with poor water pressure.[17]

On January 6, 2023, Lumumba announced that they had secured the funding needed to begin repairing and reconstructing the water systems in Jackson.[18] Nearly $800 million in funding was pulled from the $1.7 trillion federal omnibus bill that was passed back in late 2022. The EPA would work closely with the mayor and officials of Jackson to handle the funding and project.

National politics

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In February 2020, Lumumba endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[19] Bernie Sanders likewise endorsed Lumumba for reelection in 2021.[20] 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, the seat which was left empty when representative Marcia Fudge was selected by President Joe Biden for HUD Secretary. The race garnered nationwide attention as it split the Democratic Party between its progressive and moderate wings.[21] Turner was defeated by Shontel Brown in the election.

Federal indictment

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On November 5, 2024, Mayor Lumumba announced in a video statement shared with reporters that he had been indicted by a federal grand jury "on bribery and related charges" but denied all wrongdoing. [22]

Personal life

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Lumumba has two children with his wife, Ebony.[23] His wife is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of English, Modern Languages, and Speech Communication at Jackson State University, a position she has held since 2020, only two years after receiving her doctoral degree. [24]

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On the 7th of November 2024 Lumumba was indicted for bribery by the U.S Department of Justice.[25]

Lumumba are accused of accepting bribes in exchange for favors benefiting alleged real estate developers, according to the Justice Department. The department stated that such corruption undermines public trust, and it is committed to prosecuting these abuses.[26]

See also

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References

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  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. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/07/us/jackson-mayor-indicted-federal-corruption.html
  4. ^ "Some Mayors Defeated in Mississippi Municipal Primaries". U.S. News & World Report. The Associated Press. May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Lartey, Jamiles (September 11, 2017). "A revolutionary, not a liberal: can a radical black mayor bring change to Mississippi?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "In Conversation with India Walton and Chokwe Antar Lumumba". Mother Jones. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  8. ^ "A revolutionary, not a liberal: can a radical black mayor bring change to Mississippi?". the Guardian. September 11, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  9. ^ Marans, Daniel (May 3, 2017). "Progressive Attorney Unseats Business-Friendly Mississippi Mayor". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  10. ^ "Mayor Lumumba in New York City for Leadership Training". Jackson Free Press. July 24, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  11. ^ "Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Announces Second Class of Mayors Go Back to School". July 25, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  12. ^ "Jackson awarded $1 million from Michael Bloomberg for art project to spotlight food insecurity". November 29, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  13. ^ "Mayor Calls Zoo's Move 'Disingenuous,' 'Disrespectful' to West Jackson". April 13, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  14. ^ Vicory, Justin. "Settlement reached: Jackson gets zoo animals, drops $6M lawsuit". The Clarion-Ledger.
  15. ^ "Jackson Zoo to temporarily close for renovations". September 27, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  16. ^ Vicory, Justin. "'Hopeful and excited': Jackson Zoo to reopen after 11-month shutdown". The Clarion-Ledger.
  17. ^ a b c "Mississippi city's water problems stem from generations of neglect". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  18. ^ admin (January 6, 2023). "Mayor Lumumba, partners secure nearly $800 million in aid for Jackson's troubled water system". Jackson, MS. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  19. ^ Gallant, Jacob (February 28, 2020). "Mayor Lumumba endorses Bernie Sanders for president". WLBT. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  20. ^ Carter, Josh (March 29, 2021). "Bernie Sanders endorses Mayor Lumumba for reelection". WLBT. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  21. ^ Mutnick, Ally (July 12, 2021). "New poll shows Nina Turner's lead shrinking in Ohio special election". Politico. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021.
  22. ^ Wolfe, Anna (November 6, 2024). "Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba indicted in federal corruption probe". Mississippi Today.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Fiffer, Steve (March 15, 2022). "The Deep South Couple Working 24/7 for Social Justice". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  25. ^ "Office of Public Affairs | Mississippi District Attorney, Mayor of Jackson, and Jackson City Council Member Charged with Bribery and Other Offenses | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  26. ^ "Office of Public Affairs | Mississippi District Attorney, Mayor of Jackson, and Jackson City Council Member Charged with Bribery and Other Offenses | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
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Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Jackson
2017–present 		Incumbent
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