Jackson Rising ‘New Economics’ conference hosted by state-owned university

By Steve Wilson | Mississippi Watchdog

Mississippi taxpayers picked up the tab this past weekend for the Jackson Rising New Economics Conference, was hosted by Jackson State University.

The school hosted the three-day conference, which was spearheaded by late Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, who died in February, in concert with two organizations, Cooperation Jackson and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.

The Jackson Free Press reported that the school paid $1,000 to help insure the conference and provided overtime for JSU police officers to provide security for the event.

The Jackson City Council passed a resolution on Feb. 27 that supported, but did not allocate any funding for the event. Jackson city officials did not return repeated calls for comment.

The purpose of the conference, according to its website, was to create a “cooperative” or “solidarity economy” committed to “ecological sustainability, worker ownership, democratic control, and principles of non-exploitation.”

Among the topics discussed were:

• Abolishment of corporate constitutional rights.
• The advancement of worker rights in the South.
• The building of “communal territories” in Venezuela after the Bolivarian Revolution of 1998, which brought the late Hugo Chavez to power.

Among the guests was Omar Sierra, deputy consul general of Venezuela in Boston.

According to school spokesman, Jean Gordon Cook, the school’s space is open for use to all outside groups.

Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@watchdog.org

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