Formation 2013 | Website hamptoninstitution.org | |
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Motto "Providing commentary, theory, analysis and research on a wide range of social, political and economic issues from a distinct, working-class perspective with a focus on the continuation of transforming these ideas into practical steps towards revolutionary social change." Type Media outlet, think tank. | ||
The Hampton Institute (HI) is an American "working-class think tank" that was founded in 2013. In contrast to traditional think tanks, the HI is a virtual organization that does not have a physical location and does not seek to provide specific policy analysis for political parties. For organizational purposes, its official location is in Albany, New York with a main address located in Clifton Park, New York, a suburb of Albany. Current chairpersons are located throughout the United States (including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, Colorado, Oregon, Hawaii, and California), as well as Canada (Montreal) and Australia.
Contents
- Organizational makeup and approach
- Departments with corresponding chairpersons
- Political orientation
- Hampton Institute Press
- A Different Lens podcast
- Current projects
- Work and relevance
- Activism and outreach
- References
The HI was founded by Colin Jenkins, a libertarian socialist, with the purpose of giving a platform to everyday, working-class people to theorize, comment, analyze and discuss matters that exist outside the confines of their daily lives, yet greatly impact them on a daily basis. The organization is named after former Black Panther Fred Hampton and also cites inspiration from Italian Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci and educator and philosopher Paulo Freire. In order to remain consistent with their working-class billing, the HI claims to seek organic intellectuals as opposed to traditional intellectuals and scholars. In an interview from 2013, Jenkins even went as far as saying that "credentials are products of privilege" and "essentially mean nothing". Despite this, some members of the Hampton Team, as well as some contributors, possess PhDs.
Organizational makeup and approach
The organization consists of fifteen departments, each with corresponding chairpersons, as well as a sub-department listed under "Current Projects" which includes a Director of Projects, Actions, and Activism. The fifteen departments are: Criminal Justice, Ecology & Sustainability, Education, Geopolitics, Indigenous Rights, Labor Issues, LGBTQ Rights, Race & Ethnicity, Social Economics, Social Movement Studies, Society & Culture, Spirituality & Religion, Urban Issues, and Women's Issues.
Some of the current team, including Jason Williams, Andrew Gavin Marshall, Derek Ide, Cherise Charleswell, Sean Posey, Devon Douglas-Bowers, Jeriah Bowser, and Eyad Alkurabi are founding members. The HI operates a publishing wing (Hampton Institute Press), a blog (The HI blog), and a bi-monthly podcast (A Different Lens) which is run by the Politics & Government department chairperson, Devon Douglas-Bowers. The organization also maintains a presence on social media, including Facebook (The Hampton Institute) and Twitter (@HamptonThink).
Its operational structure is run as a collective, cooperative, and Non-hierarchical Organization. It is also independent and without ties to special interests. Jenkins commented on the organization's approach:
"In terms of approach, the HI attempts to begin to fill the historical void of which Gramsci once termed, “Organic Intellectualism” – the collective politicization and critical analysis of and from the working class itself. The HI is indifferent to traditional structures dominated by the pedigreed and privileged intelligentsia. Our members are passionate and probing members of the common... [we believe] intelligent analysis exists throughout the socioeconomic spectrum, and the only thing that separates those who own a public voice and those who do not is varying degrees of privilege. “Credentials” essentially mean nothing because they are typically nothing more than products of privilege; and for that reason alone, perspectives and analyses coming from those credentials/privilege are often presented in a way that opposes the public-at-large (the working class). The HI seeks to challenge this embedded, highly-controlled and top-down mode of inquiry by offering an alternative, organic and bottom-up viewpoint."
Departments with corresponding chairpersons
Political orientation
The organization does not claim an official political or ideological orientation other than "working class." Some of the members - including Marshall, Jenkins and Bowser - have openly identified with anarchist philosophy. Jenkins has also cited Marxism as a strong influence, and is a member of the Industrial Workers of the World, an international labor union that prescribes to "revolutionary industrial unionism," with ties to both socialist and anarchist labor movements. Derek Ide identifies as a socialist, stating, "I am a socialist, and I'm deeply rooted in that intellectual and political tradition broadly speaking. However, I do not identify with any of the particular subsets of Marxist schools of thought, but my view of history and the world is largely materialist." Sean Posey describes himself as anti-war and "situated on the Left, politically." Regarding his political orientation, Bowser wrote, "I am not a huge fan of labels, as they tend to isolate and exclude rather than invite and include, but the ideological worlds I tend to find myself in most often include Deep Ecology, Anarcho-primitivism, Anarcho-communism, Taoism, Pantheism, Anti-psychiatry, and Christian Agnosticism." Derek R. Ford states that he is a Communist, which, he says, "means being a Marxist and a Leninist, or a dialectical-materialist and a member of the Party.
Former chair, Jonathan Mathias Lassiter, explained, "My work is inherently political as it focuses on principles and opinions. However, I am not aligned with any political party nor am I am against any particular political party. I am not interested in political parties or politics in the common sense of the word but am more concerned with pursuing love and justice for the whole of humanity with a specific focus on marginalized populations." Former chair, Syard Evans, has said, "Despite my disgust for politics and traditional political systems, working in the non-profit human services realm for the past 15 years requires that I am an active advocate for individuals I support in every way possible, including politically." Regarding the political system in the United States, Jenkins said, "I view both parties (Democrats and Republicans) as “two wings of the same (corporate) business party.” Both represent moneyed interests, and not the interests of the large majority."
Hampton Institute Press
The organization operates a small publishing wing for the purpose of producing books in both print and digital form. Their first title, Egypt's Past and Potential: Nationalism, Neoliberalism, and Revolution, was written by Social Movement Studies chairperson Derek Ide. The book was published in January of 2014. The synopsis of the book reads:
Egypt's Past and Potential grapples with the complex political, economic, and social dynamics that led to Egypt's historic revolution of 2011. Utilizing a critical framework, author Derek Ide analyzes the country's development ranging from Nasser-era nationalism to the decades of neoliberal "reform" in order to situate the revolutionary uprising of 2011 in its appropriate historical context. The book also draws out the unique and often overlooked working class tradition in Egypt which both predated the January 25th revolution and, contrary to the common sense of many Western commentators, played a significant role in it. This timely book delivers a cogent analysis as events in Egypt continue to unfold, and provides a historical backdrop to help readers understand the economic pressures, dialectical conflicts, and social movements that intersect to shape Egyptian history.
In December 2014, Hampton's Press published their first annual reader duly titled, The 2015 Hampton Reader. It is a collection of essays from the organization's first year in existence, and includes at least four exclusive essays:
A third title, Elements of Resistance: Violence, Nonviolence, and the State, by Jeriah Bowser, was published in February 2015. The synopsis of the book reads:
Our world is full of ideas about the way that humans should live. Some of these ideas create a more beautiful and equal world that we all want to live in, while other ideas create violence, hatred, inequality, and suffering. Some of us care an awful lot about beautiful ideas; we care enough to fight for them and spend our lives working towards them, and we care enough to resist. Resistance takes many forms, however, and there are many ideas about the most effective and correct ways to resist. Elements of Resistance attempts to transcend the false binary of nonviolent and violent resistance, and looks at the heart and soul of what it means to resist, why we resist, and what some different methods of effective resistance might look like. Drawing from recent work by social theorists and activists such as Derrick Jensen, Ward Churchill, Shane Claiborne, Johann Galtung, and Peter Gelderloos, as well as the work of Frantz Fanon, Henry Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Mohandas Gandhi, this book is an exploration into the history, theory, and necessity of resistance to oppression.
Elements of Resistance received positive reviews from author and radical environmentalist, Derrick Jensen, as well as from anarchist and primitivist philosopher, John Zerzan. Jensen called the book "an important contribution to a necessary conversation," while Zerzan noted that it goes beyond "just a survey of thinking on the perennial violence/non-violence debate" to form "a very strong contribution."
In December 2015, Hampton's Press published their second annual reader, The 2016 Hampton Reader. It is a collection of sixty-one essays from the organization's second year in existence, and includes at least four exclusive essays:
A Different Lens podcast
The HI operates a podcast called "A Different Lens" for the purpose of conducting and broadcasting audio interviews with members and notable others. The podcast was initiated and is run by Politics & Government chairperson, Devon Douglas-Bowers, who also conducts the interviews. The most notable guests to date have been former Black Panther and black anarchist Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin; political cartoonist, editorialist and activist Stephanie McMillan; geopolitical analyst Prof. Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya; independent journalist Rania Khalek; noted co-founder of Reaganomics, Paul Craig Roberts; founder of Mint Press News, Mnar A. Muhawesh; author and historian Michael Parenti; Israeli journalist Gideon Levy; Philip Giraldi; and Socialist Party USA 2016 Presidential Candidate Mimi Soltysik.
Current projects
...an independent initiative to crowd-source funding for a research and writing project, aiming to produce a series of books which take a radical look at the ideas, institutions, and individuals of power and resistance. The books aim to study power and people: what is the nature of our society, how did we get here, who brought us here, why, where are we going, when will we get there, and what can we do to change it?
...analyzes the work of Greek Marxist political sociologist, Nicos Poulantzas, and applies it to the unique political and economic structures found under neoliberalism and post-industrial capitalism.
...presents a multi-part analysis of Cuba, including dispatches and observations from his 2014 visit to the country. Partyka aims to present the most accurate insight into the reality of Cuba today, as it embarks on an unprecedented transition. With a heavy reliance on macroeconomic, geopolitical, and foreign policy analysis, this study seeks to pinpoint the nuanced economic, political, and social changes that are occurring on the island nation, and how these changes are impacting everyday Cubans.
...analyzes the various health consequences of the global food production operations, distribution systems, preparation, and consumption, that affect women.
...connect individuals currently incarcerated in America's 'Prison Industrial Complex' with their concerned brothers and sisters who are not currently incarcerated, with the intention of creating class-consciousness through relationships, education, and empowerment.
Work and relevance
Hampton's analyses and commentaries have been picked up and republished by numerous media outlets, most notably Z Magazine, Truthout, Alternet, Common Dreams NewsCenter, Black Agenda Report, Dissident Voice, Foreign Policy Journal, and Popular Resistance. Andrew Gavin Marshall has been featured in ROAR Magazine and interviewed by Russia Today for his geopolitical analysis. Marshall is also a regular contributor to Sibel Edmonds' Boiling Frogs Post. Marshall and Jenkins have both contributed essays to the Transnational Institute's annual State of Power report. Education chairperson Derek R. Ford has been featured numerous times on PressTV for his geopolitical analysis. Syard Evans (Society & Culture) participated in a TED talk event in April 2014. In January of 2016, Jason Michael Williams and Colin Jenkins joined other scholars and activists in a special series on "The Possible Futures of the US Under Trump," published by Social Justice: A Journal of Crime, Conflict, and World Order.
The HI has featured interviews with Angela Davis, Cornel West, David Graeber, Chris Hedges, and Staughton Lynd; and work from Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Deepa Kumar, Ursula Le Guin, rapper and activist Immortal Technique, the co-founder of participatory economics, Michael Albert, and MMA fighter Jeff Monson.
In April 2015, the HI was one of a number of organizations invited to submit a report to the United Nations General Assembly regarding Resolution A/RES/69/160 on "Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance." The HI's report, Rising Nazism and Racial Intolerance in the United States: A Contemporary Analysis, focused on a variety of areas including (1) a brief history of Nazism in the US, (2) Neoliberal economics, rising inequality and austerity as a driver, (3) Nazism and white supremacy in the US military, (4) Nazism and white supremacy online, (5) Nazism and white supremacy on college campuses, (6) Racist policing and mass incarceration, (7) Nazism protected by the state, (8) Rising fascism in American politics, (9) a case study on the state of California, and (10) a comparative analysis regarding Australia.
Activism and outreach
Many of Hampton's members are involved in activism, direct action, and community outreach. Sean Posey has worked in community development at the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, where he assists with vacancy issues and urban agriculture in the inner city of Youngstown, Ohio. Derek Ide is the co-founder of and community adviser to the University of Toledo's Students for Justice in Palestine chapter on campus. Jonathan Mathias Lassiter has served as a therapist at the Center for HIV Educational Studies and Training, where he provided clinical services for a National Institute on Drug Abuse funded clinical intervention trial. Jeriah Bowser has been involved in prison outreach programs. Derek Ford is an anti-war and anti-racist organizer with A.N.S.W.E.R.. Boyce Brown has been active in Hawaii's indigenous rights movement for many years. Eyad Alkurabi is a community organizer for GetEQUAL. Debra Hocking received an International Year of Peace award, and the Tasmanian Human Rights Award for humanitarian work in her homeland of Tasmania.
In June 2014, the HI sponsored a two-part book talk on Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century. The presenters were Nicholas Partyka and Colin Donnaruma, and the two events took place at the Social Justice Center in Albany, New York.
In August 2014, the HI sponsored a "Freedom for Gaza" protest and march. The event took place in Albany, New York and was part of a nationwide "Day of Rage" coordinated in hundreds of cities in response to Israel's bombing of the Gaza strip.
In November 2014, Criminal Justice department chair, Dr. Jason Michael Williams, traveled to Ferguson, Missouri as part of an effort to assess the 2014 Ferguson unrest due to the Michael Brown shooting. Williams was part of a collection of criminologists and professors seeking to monitor the nature of the police response, which was deemed by many organizations (including Amnesty International) to be "heavy-handed" and "excessive".
In December 2014, the HI became an official sponsor of the James Connolly Forum in Troy, New York. The forum is a monthly event that attracts speakers, scholars, and activists from a wide range of disciplines. Guest speakers to date have included Doug Henwood, Liza Featherstone, author and professor Jodi Dean, peace activist Dahlia Wasfi, author Vijay Prashad, teacher and activist Brian Jones, and founder and editor of Jacobin Magazine, Bhaskar Sunkara.
In June 2016, the HI co-sponsored a panel discussion on "Electoral Politics and the Left". The panel included Green Party US Presidential candidate, Jill Stein, the International Socialist Organization's Ashley Smith, and Bhaskar Sunkara.