The Purpose of Educultural Foundation and The Hegemony Project
Educultural Foundation and The Hegemony Project are dedicated to the on-going work of identifying the ways in which cultural hegemony works systemically in the United States, Europe and around the world to further the interests of elites at the expense of poor to middle income people. Of course, people in power may work to bring about greater equity and equality and that goal is one that we at the Educultural Foundation and The Hegemony Project applaud.
Nevertheless, cultural hegemony persuades us that the interests of the elite are normal, natural and common sense. Cultural hegemony works to police our horizons so that we do not challenge the power and purpose of elites, at home and abroad. As a result, we tend to support and/or take for granted dominant socioeconomic, cultural and political arrangements.
To paraphrase Nelson Mandela, elites have the power to limit our vision of the possible.
Where It Began
Educultural Foundation (EF) was born in 1993 when Virginia Lea, professor of education, and Babatunde Lea, jazz drummer and percussionist, decided to build a social justice organization that shared their passions and strengths. EF facilitates critical consciousness about social and cultural issues through music, fine arts, literature and dance.
The Hegemony Project came about when Dr. Virginia Lea and Mr. Dang Yang decided that the School of Education at their Midwest university needed a critical collaboration between students, faculty and staff to better understand why systemic inequities persisted in their school, in their society and on a global scale.
For seven years, as part of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, The Hegemony Project organized dialogues and events, led by students, to develop greater consciousness about how cultural hegemony functions as the underlying processes and conditions of the social order that produces deep-seated social, political, cultural, and economic inequities and inequalities in society.
The fusion of Educultural Foundation and The Hegemony Project just strengthens our collective ability to offer caring, social justice programs, projects and events with the goal of contributing to equitable socioeconomic change.
The executive board of the Educultural Foundation and The Hegemony Project is currently made up of Dr. Virginia Lea, Babatunde Lea, Dr. Sapna Thapa, and Dr. Emily Hines. There are several other advisors and contributors to the organization.