Make It Plain MIP with Rev. Mark Thompson

On September 15, 2023, Bishop William J. Barber, II of Repairers of the Breach, Bishop Frank Madison Reid, III of the 11th Episcopal District of the AME Church, March For Our Lives Activist David Hogg and others March to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' to deliver a letter demanding he and other Florida electeds cease and desist from hateful rhetoric that may have contributed to the racist hate killings of Angela Carr, A.J. Laguerre and Jerald Gallion on August 26, 2023.

September 15, 2023 marks 60 years since the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, in which four little girls, Addie Mae Collins (age 14), Denise McNair (age 11), Carole Robertson (age 14), and Cynthia Wesley (age 14), were killed. Addie Mae's sister, Sarah, survived the bombing, and she told her story on Make It Plain, September 19, 2013.

Kamau Franklin of Community Movement Builders joins.

A diverse group of clergy led by Bishop William J. Barber, II, Founder of Repairers of the Breach, and Bishop Frank Madison Reid, III, Presiding Prelate of the 11th Episcopal District of the AME Church, held a press conference Thursday, September 7, 2023 to respond to the racist hate killings that took the lives of Angela Michelle Carr, Anolt Laguerre and Jerrald Gallion on August 26 at the Jacksonville Dollar General.

The clergy called for a period of fasting and prayer and will support the students in the state of Florida delivering a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis demanding that he and other politicians cease and desist from sowing racial hatred witt their rhetoric and policies, and also demanding DeSantis resign.

Clergy also announced a march in Tallahassee, September 16, the 60th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing in Birmingham, when four little girls were killed,

Markos Moulitsas joins for #ThursdayKos, and Chad Stone joins for the August Jobs Report.

Katherine Clark and Camille Wade are both customer service representatives for Maximus.

Maximus operates the largest federally-contracted call centers in the country under a contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which is operated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Maximus workers handle tens of millions of Obamacare/Affordable Care Act and Medicare calls under a $6.6 billion federal contract. These customer service representatives are predominantly Black and Latina women, at ten call centers mostly located in the South. 

Maximus workers have been facing unacceptable labor practices for years including low pay, unaffordable health care, unfair layoffs, harsh attendance policies, and significant racial inequities within its workforce. These challenges become even more pressing during the open enrollment period, and particularly following recent layoffs affecting nearly 800 workers.

Workers are calling on Maximus for more affordable healthcare, a living wage of at least $25 per hour, and the freedom to organize a union free from employer intimidation. 

Workers are putting Maximus on notice that they are prepared to go on strike during the open enrollment period unless Maximus addresses their demands.

Terri Carmichael-Jackson, Executive Director of the WNBA Players Association, and David Foster, General Counsel of the National Basketball Players Association, participate in a Town Hall moderated by Rev. Mark at the 52nd Annual Coalition of Black Trade Unionists Convention on May 25, 2023.

Markos joins for Thursday Kos.

In time for the 60th Anniversary of the March On Washington, Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, the Chief of Race, Wealth and Community for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, joins to discuss his latest report on MLK's distant dream. 

Markos and Rev. Mark analyze the GOP debate on this week's Thursday Kos