According to its site, the Hampton Institute (HI) was founded by Colin Jenkins in 2013. The self-proclaimed socialist started the non-profit organization to give a platform to "everyday, working-class people to theorize, comment, analyze, and discuss matters that exist outside the confines of our daily lives, yet greatly impact us on a daily basis."
In his bio, Jenkins says he's a military veteran, a former world record-holding powerlifter, a former Division III strong safety, and a Wobbly (member of the Industrial Workers of the World).
The Institute's name is a tribute to former Black Panther Party member and revolutionary martyr, Fred Hampton. HI operates virtually, without any physical offices, with members and contributors located around the world, working to “build class consciousness” and “end oppressive systems like capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy.”
The HI considers itself the opposite of the traditional think tank. It's not aligned with any political party, "or other interest groups of the elite."
"Rich people have always had class consciousness because… they want to stay rich," wrote Jenkins in a paper titled The Capitalist Coup Called Neoliberalism.
"This collective consciousness led the 'founding fathers' of the United States to set up systems of governance that would, first and foremost, protect them (the wealthy, landowning minority) from the landless, working majority (slaves, indentured servants, laborers). Since then, the rich have had undue influence on every aspect of US life: housing, food production and distribution, education, media, and politics."
