Closing arguments are happening today in Ahmaud Arbery’s murder trial, as the prosecution seeks justice through the conviction of father-and-son duo Travis and Gregory McMichael, as well as their neighbor William Bryan Jr.. Attorney Barbara Arnwine, who is also the Founder and President of the Transformative Justice Coalition, has been working with Ahmaud’s family and their community since the beginning, and she reports to us about a trial that has been rife with misconduct and failures of the criminal justice system. Just yesterday, the defense made multiple requests to have the Transformative Justice Coalition removed from the courtroom--this is after he asked for Black pastors to be excluded last week. And that’s just a piece of the misconduct pie, and Barbara breaks it down for us and lets us know what we can expect today.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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In 2002, Julius Jones was wrongfully convicted of murdering Paul Howell. Last week, on the day of his scheduled execution for a crime he did not commit, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt commuted the death sentence just four hours before he was set to die. It is a victory that Julius’s life has been saved, but now the work continues to free him from prison. Pastor Mike McBride, Founder of Live Free USA and the Black Church PAC, played a large part in fighting for Julius’s life alongside other faith leaders, and he walks us back through the racism that led to Julius's incarceration, the racism of the death penalty itself, and the juxtaposition of faith leaders assisting in Julius's commutation while simultaneously being scrutinized in the trial of the men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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Led by the League of Women Voters and People for the American Way, Mark joined forces with protestors in Washington D.C. to demand President Biden FIX OR NIX THE FILIBUSTER. You’ll hear one-on-one conversations with: April Albright, Legal Director and Chief of Staff at Black Voters Matter Fund; Judith Brown Dianis, Executive Director of the Advancement Project; Rev. Tim McDonald, Chair of the Board for People for the American Way; Senator Lena Taylor of Wisconsin; Cliff Albright, Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter, and Wes Bellamy, Co-Chair of Our Black Party; and a closing word from Rev. Dr. WIlliam Barber II.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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On Tuesday, Mark spent the day attended the 8th gathering of Black women and allies, brought together by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation's Black Women's Roundtable and the National Council of Negro Women. We'll hear from two movement leaders and speakers to kick things off: Melanie Campbell, President and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and convener of Black Women's Roundtable; and Clayola Brown, Civil, Human and Women's Rights Director for the AFL-CIO. They're followed by one-on-one conversations with Congresswoman Shontel Brown of Ohio, who was elected to replace HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge; Jotaka Eaddy, Host of "Speak Sis" on the Oprah Winfrey Network and founder of #WinWithBlackWomen; Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League; Derrick Johnson, President of the NAACP.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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Why is the infrastructure bill significant? Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves says it’s a historic long-term investment for the next five years, giving life to projects like fixing bridges and roads and even expanding broadband access.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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Yesterday, as President Biden signed the infrastructure bill, protestors and organizers gathered on Capitol Hill to point to the crucial legislation that also needs passage: the Build Back Better Act. Mark teamed up with Poor People’s Campaign Co-Chairs Rev. Dr. William Barber II and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis to call for immediate action on the Build Back Better legislation. You’ll hear from protestors/organizers from Maine and Montana, Stewart Acuff, formerly of the UWUA and AFL CIO, and the keynote address from Rev. Dr. William Barber II.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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The fact is, we won’t be seeing the last of COVID-19 anytime soon. That’s one of the several truths dropped in today’s episode with Dr. Sandro Galea, epidemiologist and Dean of Boston University’s Robert A. Knox School of Public Health, and author of his new book “The Contagion Next Time.” Not only can we expect to see more of the coronavirus, but we could see stronger, more deadly strains. But this episode is not intended to make you fear what’s ahead! Dr. Galea wants us to prepare accordingly, and consider a number of external factors, so as to not forget all that we endured with coronavirus and be in poor conditions to battle the virus again.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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If you believe in and support reparations: the time is now. Your help is needed in contacting House leadership to let them know. Dreisen Heath is a Researcher with Human Rights Watch and Kennis Henry is Chairperson of NCOBRA Legislative Committee, and in today’s episode, they give us the exact steps you need to take to get involved, including a super easy website that allows you to send an email directly to House leadership (link below). They also give us the background info: who is supporting the bill, how many votes are currently in favor, and what still needs to be done. #HR40totheFloor

MORE INFO: ncobraonline.org

hrw.org/reparationsnow

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLKIT: thesocialpresskit.com/reparationsnow

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

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Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKos and Civiqs, is here for his weekly installment of #ThursdayKos to do a postmortem on the election in Virginia. Markos lays out the questions the election posed: will trump voters turn out if he’s not on the ballot? Will suburban college-educated white women go back to the republican party? Will the Democratic base turn out? And according to Markos, we got our answers--answers that could prove to be an indicator of how things will go in 2022 and 2024.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

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Dr. Ray Winbush is the Director of the Urban Research Institute at Morgan State University and author of the book “Should America Pay?: Slavery and the Raging Debate on Reparations.” He has been working within the reparations movement for decades and in today’s episode, he and Mark discuss the latest in getting H.R. 40 passed, as we are now the closest we’ve ever been in advancing reparations legislation.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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