Talk:Hampton Institute

The Hampton Institute (HI) is a working-class think tank created by founding editor Colin Jenkins and others in 2013. The Hampton Institute has a physical office in Albany, New York, although it is primarily an online organization and blog. It doesn't serve at the behest of any particular political organization or tendency and has no party affiliation. Instead, it promotes politics broadly considered left wing--from anarchism and socialism to Black nationalism and communism. 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. 22:54, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

HI sees itself as an organization of what Antonio Gramsci called "organic intellectuals," or workers and oppressed people who organically learn and grow into leaders and thinkers. In this way, it's radically different than other intellectual left organizations and websites that are curated by academics. Jenkins once said that "'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 Hampton Institute's actions include maintaining an online blog, a weekly podcast titled "A Different Lens," publishing books, and writing commissioned reports. As an organization, they regularly sign onto solidarity statements with international states and movements, as well as domestic struggles and organizations.22:45, 13 September 2021 (UTC)Withoutdistinction (talk) 22:48, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

A different lens

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; academic Derek Ford; 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; Socialist Party USA 2016 Presidential Candidate Mimi Soltysik, scientist Guy McPherson, and Aviva Chomsky. [17][18]

2015 United Nations Report

In April 2015, the Hampton Institute 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 from neoliberal economics, rising inequality and austerity to Nazism and white supremacy in the US military, and online.

The United Nations General Assembly report noted:

"The Hampton Institute provided information on Nazism and white supremacy in the United States military. According to the organization, there was a documented  trend of neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups encouraging their members to seek  State-sponsored military training to be put to use in carrying out or participating in  domestic terrorism, or a “racial holy war”, as well as a concerted effort on the part  of white supremacist and neo-Nazi leaders to actively recruit members from within the ranks of the military. This trend had intensified since the beginning of the “war on  terror”,  which  had  created  a large  pool  of  embittered  soldiers  and  veterans returning  to  a  bleak  economic  landscape  caused  by  the  prolonged  economic downturn."22:52, 13 September 2021 (UTC)

Work and relevance
Hampton's analyses and commentaries have been picked up and republished by numerous media outlets, most notably Monthly Review, Z Magazine,[21][22][23][24] Truthout,[25] Alternet,[26], and Common Dreams NewsCenter,[27]. Andrew Gavin Marshall has been featured in ROAR Magazine[28][29][30] and interviewed by Russia Today[31] for his geopolitical analysis. Marshall is also a regular contributor to Sibel Edmonds' Boiling Frogs Post.[32] Marshall and Jenkins have both contributed essays to the Transnational Institute's annual State of Power report.[33][34] Education chairperson Derek R. Ford has been featured numerous times on PressTV for his geopolitical analysis.[35][36] Syard Evans (Society & Culture) participated in a TED talk event in April 2014.[37] In January 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.[38]

The HI has featured interviews with Angela Davis, Cornel West, David Graeber, Chris Hedges, and Staughton Lynd; and work from Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Peter McLaren, Deepa Kumar, Ursula Le Guin, rapper and activist Immortal Technique, the co-founder of participatory economics, Michael Albert, and MMA fighter Jeff Monson.