Chokwe Lumumba Sr. (; August 2, 1947 – February 25, 2014) was an American attorney, activist, and politician, who was affiliated with the black separatist organization Republic of New Afrika and served as its second vice president. He served as a human rights lawyer in Michigan and Mississippi. In 2013, after serving on the City Council, he was elected as Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi. His son

Chokwe Antar Lumumba Chokwe Antar Lumumba (born March 29, 1983) is an American attorney, activist, and politician serving as the 53rd mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, the 7th consecutive African-American to hold the position. In 2024, Lumumba and other officials in t ...

was elected Mayor of Jackson in 2017. He was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, as Edwin Finley Taliaferro, and was raised there. He changed his name in 1969 after joining the Republic of New Afrika.

Early life and education

He was born in

, as Edwin Finley Taliaferro, the second of eight children of Lucien Taliaferro, from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, and Priscilla, from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. Lumumba stated at the 2011 Netroots Nation Annual Conference that his great-grandmother was a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

woman and his great-grandfather was a

Black American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

man who descended from enslaved Nigerians. There is no documented evidence that Lumumba is of Cherokee descent, and such claims may stem from a family oral tradition or myth rather than verifiable genealogy. His parents had each moved to Detroit in the Great Migration of the early 20th century. Raised

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, Lumumba attended local Catholic schools. He graduated from St. Theresa High School in Detroit, where he served as president of the student council and captain of the football team. As a young man he witnessed police brutality. His mother would stand with her children on corners collecting money for the

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and later, the Student National Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emer ...

, and she her determination gave him a foundation for organizing. The

assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr., an American civil rights activist, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05& ...

on April 4, 1968, had a deep effect on young Lumumba. The day following King's assassination, he took part in the occupation of a university building at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

. The students protested the lack of African-American faculty among other academic demands. He majored in political science and graduated from

Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo College is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by American Baptist Churches USA, Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, K ...

in 1969, where he formed the Black United Front to advocate for African-American studies in Midwestern higher educational institutions.

Political career

Lumumba became more involved in

Black Nationalist Black nationalism is a nationalist movement which seeks representation for Black people as a distinct national identity, especially in racialized, colonial and postcolonial societies. Its earliest proponents saw it as a way to advocate for ...

politics. In 1969 he changed his name to Chokwe (after the

Chokwe people __NOTOC__ The Chokwe people, known by many other names (including Kioko, Bajokwe, Chibokwe, Kibokwe, Ciokwe, Cokwe or Badjok), are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group of Central Africa, Central and Southern Africa. They are found primarily in An ...

, an ethnic group in Central Africa that resisted slavery) Lumumba (after

Patrice Lumumba Patrice Émery Lumumba ( ; born Isaïe Tasumbu Tawosa; 2 July 192517 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic o ...

, assassinated leader of the Congo). He was elected in 1971 to the cabinet of the Republic of New Afrika as the second vice president. As second vice president, he accompanied other members when the capital of the provisional government was moved to

Hinds County, Mississippi Hinds County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats (Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Mississippi with a 2020 census population of 227,742 residents. Hinds Co ...

, and dedicated at a farm there on March 28, 1971. This site was considered a center of the former black-majority states claimed by the RNA for the new country. He was in the lead car with Alajo Abegbalola which was halted by the Bolton police on that day when the "Land Celebration" was set to take place, marking the establishment of the capital of the Republic of New Afrika.

Legal career

Lumumba finished first in his law school class, graduating cum laude from

Wayne State University Law School Wayne State University Law School (Wayne Law) is the law school of Wayne State University in Detroit. Wayne Law is located in Midtown, Detroit's Cultural Center. Founded in 1927, the law school offers juris doctor (J.D.), master of laws (LL.M.), ...

in 1975. While there he created the

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

Center and worked as a staff attorney in the Detroit Public Defenders Office. He formed a law firm in Detroit in 1978 and successfully defended 16 prisoners who faced murder charges after a

riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

in a prison in

Pontiac, Illinois Pontiac is a city in Livingston County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 11,150 in the 2020 census. The 1984 movie '' Grandview, U.S.A.'' was set in Pontiac. History Settlement Pontiac was established on July ...

. He was initially barred from representing Cynthia Boston, known as Fulani Sunni Ali, a member of a revolutionary group charged in a

Brink's The Brink's Company is an American Automated cash handling, cash handling company, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Its operations include cash-in-transit, ATM replenishment & maintenance, and cash management & payment services, such as va ...

robbery case; she was jailed on $500,000 bond. Many national legal groups protested the barring of Lumumba from representing the prisoner and the characterization of him as a terrorist due to his membership in the Republic of New Afrika. In 1983 while handling the Brink's case, Lumumba was held in contempt by the federal judge for his press comments. He worked on the Geronimo Pratt case and encouraged black youth to eschew gang activities and participate in global actions such as protesting

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

in South Africa. During the 1980s, there was a marked increase in the number of imprisoned African Americans in the United States, due in part to mandatory sentencing guidelines. Lumumba became interested in organizing to demand reparations for the damage done to the generations of African-American slaves, which he believed had contributed to contemporary problems of blacks in the United States. In September 1987 at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, as a co-founder of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America, Lumumba addressed a conference sponsored by the National Conference of Black Lawyers. He discussed the constitutional neglect of the needs of enslaved persons. In 1988 Lumumba returned to

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. Three years later he was granted the right to practice law. He was a public defender on contract with the City of Jackson's consortium to represent the indigent citizens of the municipality. In 1994 Lumumba sued to have a public defender contract voided. In 2000 Judge Swan Yerger dismissed a lawsuit which Lumumba filed against a police officer. The Mississippi Bar publicly reprimanded Lumumba after the judge found him in contempt. In a Leake County case he was found in contempt and publicly reprimanded. After an unsuccessful appeal to the Mississippi Supreme Court, he served three days in the county jail when bond was refused. He lost his license to practice law for six months.

Jackson city council

In 2009 Lumumba was elected to the

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

Ward Two council seat with the help of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, which he had helped found. He also gained support from the Jackson People's Assembly, the Mississippi Disaster Relief Coalition, and other community activists. He served as chairman of the New African Peoples Organization and co-sponsored the Washington D.C. rally, Occupy the Justice Department. In 2010, he addressed the New Black Panther Party in Atlanta. He helped the Mississippi Public Broadcasting agency in an anti-dropout campaign for young students.

2013 mayoral race

In 2013, Lumumba ran for mayor of Jackson, first running in the primary for the Democratic nomination. By the evening of May 7, 2013, it was announced that Lumumba had forced Jonathan Lee into a runoff election and that the incumbent, Harvey Johnson Jr., had been soundly defeated in each municipal ward. Lumumba had led in at least five of the seven wards. Prior to the primary election on May 7 Lumumba had raised only $69,000, one-fifth of Jonathan Lee's campaign chest, but projected that the challenger's grassroots work would be more decisive in the upcoming runoff. On May 15, attorney Regina Quinn, the fourth-place Democratic primary finisher, endorsed Lumumba for his stance on infrastructure development as an economic stimulus for local Jackson businesses and his insistence that the city pay women equally with men in like positions. On May 21, 2013, Lumumba defeated Jonathan Lee by over 3,000 votes and bested his opponent in five out of the seven municipal wards. Lee gained more votes from the wards with higher populations of whites. With negligible opposition in the June 4th general election, Lumumba easily became the mayor-elect for the capital of Mississippi. The next day, Lumumba publicly questioned the significance of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

as "discoverer of America", generating some controversy. He was sworn in as Mayor on July 1, 2013.Barnes, Dustin
"Chokwe Lumumba's comments on Christopher Columbus fuel debate"
''Clarion Ledger'', 23 May 2013; retrieved May 24, 2013. In his short time in office, Lumumba impressed both blacks and whites with his pragmatic approach to governance of the struggling city. He "promised to fix the potholes and the sewers and passed a sales tax increase to help do it." He discussed it in all precincts and won 90% approval for the tax.
''New York Times'', 9 March 2014, accessed 8 June 2015

Death

Lumumba died on February 25, 2014, at the age of 66. City officials said he died at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson. The cause of death was not immediately clear since Sharon Grisham-Stewart, the Hinds County coroner, refused to perform an autopsy after Lumumba's mysterious death following complaints of a cold. Hinds County Supervisor Kenneth Stokes and others believe Lumumba was murdered. City Councilman Quentin Whitwell told reporters that Lumumba died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

. ''The New York Times'' said in its obituary of Lumumba that "being the progressive black mayor of a black-majority Southern capital ultimately may not have been a far cry from the black

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

he once sought."

Personal life

Lumumba's son,

, is also a lawyer and was a partner in his father's practice, and is the current mayor of Jackson, Mississippi. He attended Jackson United Methodist Church in Jackson.

Legacy

The grassroots organization Cooperation Jackson, which seeks to build on many of the values Lumumba fought for, named their headquarters building the Chokwe Lumumba Center for Economic Democracy and Development. Warren Avenue in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, on the campus of

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

, is called Chokwe Lumumba Ave in his honor.

References

External links

Human Rights website

Bibliography

Free the Land: An Interview with Chokwe Lumumba
by

Bhaskar Sunkara Bhaskar Sunkara (born June 1989) is an American political writer. He is the founding editor of ''Jacobin,'' the president of ''The Nation,'' and publisher of ''Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy''. He is a former vice-chair of the Democr ...

, Jacobin Magazine, June 2014 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lumumba, Chokwe 1947 births 2014 deaths Mississippi city council members Mayors of Jackson, Mississippi Politicians from Detroit Kalamazoo College alumni Wayne State University Law School alumni African-American mayors in Mississippi 21st-century mayors of places in Mississippi Lawyers from Detroit Lawyers from Jackson, Mississippi American United Methodists 20th-century Methodists 21st-century Methodists American Black separatist activists Mississippi socialists Public defenders African-American city council members in Mississippi