Lumumba's mayoral stint followed his father's, Chokwe Lumumba, who was elected as Ward 2's councilman in 2009, then as Jackson's mayor in 2013. His father's term, which Lumumba advised, would be cut short after he unexpectedly died in office in 2014. Lumumba ran to replace him in 2014, but he lost to Tony Yarber in a runoff.

The mayor of Mississippi’s capital city, the top prosecutor in the state’s largest county and a Jackson city council member have been indicted on conspiracy and bribery charges in a case that has already forced the resignation of another city council member.