Chokwe Antar Lumumba

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, he and some 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]

  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.