Make It Plain MIP with Rev. Mark Thompson

Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKo & Civiqs, and Host of podcast “The Brief,” is back and there’s a mixed bag of issues covered in today’s episode. We get an update on the latest thing that Senator Joe Manchin is standing in the way of, some context on Facebook keeping Trump off their platform, and the political aspirations of Sen. Tim Scott, Herschel Walker, and Nikki Haley.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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Plessy vs. Ferguson upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the concept of “separate but equal.” The case is more than 125 years old now, but Dr. Susan T. Gooden and co-contributors have a new report that shows how the landmark case’s ripple effect is still present in today’s society, from criminal justice, to education, and even COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Dr. Gooden is Dean and Professor of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as an internationally recognized expert on social equity, and she joins the show today to dig into how, exactly, Plessy vs. Ferguson’s legacy is playing its part in keeping Black and Brown communities from having greater access to the vaccine, despite the fact that those communities have been hit hardest by coronavirus.

Co-Contributors: John A. Powell, University of California, Berkeley, and Samuel L. Myers Jr., University of Minnesota

Read the report here: https://www.russellsage.org/news/plessy-v-ferguson-and-legacy-separate-equal-after-125-years

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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In the final half of this two-part panel, hosted by the Institute of the Black World 21st Century and moderated by Mark and Nkechi Taifa, panelists dig deeper into the topics President Biden covered in his first formal address to Congress. LaTosha Brown opens with remarks on voter suppression and then participants provide additional analysis and reflection on topics including unemployment, international relations, reparations, and police violence. The panel closes with moving remarks by Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba of Jackson, Mississippi.

Moderated by: Mark Thompson and Nkechi Taifa, Esq., President, The Taifa Group, Author, Black Power Lawyer

Panelists: Dr. E. Faye Williams, National President/CEO, National Congress of Black Women; LaTosha Brown, Co-Founder, Black Voter Matters; Bill Fletcher, Author, Labor and Social Justice Activist; Tamika Mallory, Co- Founder, Until Freedom; Dr. Greg Carr, Chairman, Africana Studies Department, Howard University; Pastor Michael McBride, Co-Founder, Black Church PAC; A’Dorian Murray-Thomas, School Board Member; Kyleesha Wingfield-Hill, Policy Advisor Office of the Mayor, Newark, NJ; Jamecia Gray, Manager, M4BL Electoral Justice Project; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Author, Political Economist, Commentator

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

For additional content: makeitplain.com

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In this annual panel (and two-part MIP series), hosted by the Institute of the Black World 21st Century and moderated by Mark and Nkechi Taifa, these Black leaders reflect on President Biden’s first 100 days in office and assess what, if anything, has been accomplished that will advance the goals of the Black community-at-large. These leaders also consider what Black voters can and should do to hold the Biden administration accountable.

Moderated by: Mark Thompson and Nkechi Taifa, Esq., President, The Taifa Group, Author, Black Power Lawyer

Panelists: Dr. E. Faye Williams, National President/CEO, National Congress of Black Women; LaTosha Brown, Co-Founder, Black Voter Matters; Bill Fletcher, Author, Labor and Social Justice Activist; Tamika Mallory, Co- Founder, Until Freedom; Dr. Greg Carr, Chairman, Africana Studies Department, Howard University; Pastor Michael McBride, Co-Founder, Black Church PAC; A’Dorian Murray-Thomas, School Board Member; Kyleesha Wingfield-Hill, Policy Advisor Office of the Mayor, Newark, NJ; Jamecia Gray, Manager, M4BL Electoral Justice Project; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Author, Political Economist, Commentator

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We’re in the middle of a pandemic, so you’d probably think Florida’s legislative goals include healthcare, education, and employment, for starters. That would be a wrong assumption--instead, they’re pushing through H.B. 1, which focuses on bringing us back to the Jim Crow era by making peaceful protests nearly impossible to participate in without getting arrested. Micah Kubic is the Executive Director at ACLU of Florida and he breaks down all the shady details of the bill, which essentially grants police officers the power to decide if a protest is a “riot” and then arrest and charge any and every person in attendance. Micah also lets us know what the ACLU is doing to fight it, and what you can do on an individual level to protect this basic right.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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It’s been 100 days of President Biden, and it’s been...quiet--but still productive for progressives, says Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKos and Civiqs and Host of podcast “The Brief.” Markos and Mark dissect the Biden administration’s strategies and nominations and put them against the backdrop of American history to see where we’re actually advancing. Markos also shares his thoughts on Derek Chauvin being found guilty of the murder of George Floyd.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

For additional content: makeitplain.com

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The Supreme Court is set to hear a major NRA-backed gun rights case, which will decide if New Yorkers can carry concealed handguns while in public. Igor Volsky, Executive Director of Guns Down America, is back today to explain how this potentially dangerous ruling could bring us such a great distance from what the 2nd Amendment was intended to do, according to the Founding Fathers. And as Igor reminds us, there are now more guns than people in the United States, and even the “best trained individuals” (a.k.a. the police) prove to misuse their firearms time and time again--so this case could have violent and tragic results.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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Angelo Carusone, President of Media Matters for America (mediamatters.org) is back for an update on “UnFox My Cable Box” (unfoxmycablebox.com), which seeks to inform consumers on the ways they are (often unknowingly) funding the propaganda machine that is Fox News. Angelo also discusses the network’s massively inaccurate predictions of riots and violence that would follow the verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder trial. We’re also wondering why Fox is so devoted to Tucker Carlson, and Angelo fills us in on their harsh reality that doubles as motivation to keep him around: they can’t survive without him.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

For additional content: makeitplain.com

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Reverend Michael Battle’s latest book, “Desmond Tutu: A Spiritual Biography of South Africa’s Confessor,” gives an unprecedented closeup of one of the most visible figures of the anti-apartheid movement. Rev. Battle has known Archbishop Tutu for more than 25 years, once living in residence with him in South Africa, serving as his chaplain and eventually getting ordained by him. In that time, he became deeply acquainted with the spirituality that helped Tutu tackle apartheid. In today’s episode, he talks about what he learned from his mentor, how he came to be in that position as his mentee, who Archbishop Tutu was beyond his political work, as well as Rev. Battle’s thoughts on the current reparations movement. Rev. Battle is currently the Herbert Thompson Professor of Church and Society and Director of the Desmond Tutu Center at General Theological Seminary in New York.

Executive Producer: Adell Coleman

Producer: Brittany Temple

Distributor: DCP Entertainment

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In today’s final episode of “Reparations Are Coming,” we hear the remaining panelists share their final thoughts on witnessing history, and as Mark calls it, the “unfinished business of America.” These panelists are deeply ingrained in the fight for reparations, and they express their gratitude for those who work alongside them, as well as the giants whose shoulders they stand upon, as we watch the bill advance to the House of Representatives.

Panelists: Kamm Howard, National Co-Chair of NCOBRA; Kennis Henry, Chairperson of NCOBRA Legislative Committee; Reverend Dr. JoAnn Watson, Senior Pastor of Westside Unity Church; Dr. Raymond Winbush, Director of the Institute for Urban Research; Nkechi Taifa, Founder & Principal CEO of Taifa Group LLC; Dr. Ron Daniels, President of the Institute of the Black World Conference; Dr. Greg Kimathi Carr, Professor of Africana Studies, Howard University

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