Hampton Institute

The Hampton Institute is a proletarian think tank that was founded in 2013 with the purpose of providing commentary, analysis, and theory on a wide range of social, political, and economic issues from a working-class perspective. 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, NY with a main address located nearby in Clifton Park, NY. 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. The HI was founded 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 seeks "organic intellectuals" as opposed to traditional intellectuals and scholars. The organization consists of sixteen 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 sixteen departments are: Criminal Justice, Ecology & Sustainability, Education, Geopolitics, Indigenous Rights, Labor Issues, LGBTQ Rights, Politics & Government, Race & Ethnicity, Resistance Art, Social Economics, Social Movement Studies, Society & Culture, Spirituality & Religion, Urban Issues, and Women's Issues. The HI is run as a collective, cooperative, and non-hierarchical organization. It is also independent and without ties to special interests. The HI operates a publishing wing (Hampton Institute Press), a blog (The HI blog), and a bi-monthly podcast (A Different Lens). The organization also maintains a presence on social media, including Facebook (The Hampton Institute) and Twitter (). The HI acquired 501 (c) (3) non-profit status in December of 2016.