Make It Plain with Mark Thompson

This week's Poor People's Campaign Moral March on West Virginia continues the day Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed to the Supreme Court by the US Senate. The Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis, the Rev. Robin Tanner, Jean Evansmore, Shailley Gupta Barnes, Danyelle Holmes and Lauren Zehyoue react. Pam Garrison reminds us what the West Virginia struggle is all about. And Shailley Gupta Barnes explains the Poor People’s Pandemic Report findings.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Those were the compelling words used by the Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Chief of Staff, to describe Dr. King's speech, "Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence," April 4, 1967 at the Riverside Church in New York--one year to the day before Dr. King's crucifixion.Red Letter Christians organized clergy, including Rev. Mark, and activists to read "Beyond Vietnam" at Riverside 55 years later, in a moving tribute to MLK to commemorate his martyrdom, and in consideration of his unfinished work today.In order of appearance:Rev. Michael McBride Rev. Traci BlackmonShane ClaiborneRev. Michael W. WatersLisa Sharon HarperCarlos RodriguezRev. Todd YearyRev. Cece Jones-DavisDiana OestreichRev. Dr. Shakeema NorthErich KussmanBishop Herbert Daughtry Britt WhiteBishop Leah Daughtry Gabby Wilkes Andrew Wilkes Rev. Mark ThompsonAaron NiequistRev. Liz TheoharisRev. Sharon RisherDr. Ron DanielsJemar TisbyPhillip JoubertStephen Green Rev. Leslie CallahanRev. Bernice

White House Senior Policy Advisor for COVID Equity, Dr. Cameron Webb, provides an update on just how much we can rest assured that we are out of the woods from the disease, and whether we will need another booster. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

DailyKos.com’s Founder, Markos Moulitsas, applies his military experience to evaluate Russia’s doomed prosecution of its war against Ukraine.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Lala Wu, Executive Director of SisterDistrict.com, on how Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is an inspiration to a generation unrepresented in places of power, and working to elect diverse, progressive state legislators will change that.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ali Breland of Mother Jones on Sen. Josh Hawley’s obsession. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Elie Mystal of The Nation and author of the new NYT Bestseller, “Allow Me To Retort: A Black Man’s Guide to the Constitution,” on GOP Senators’ racist and sexist attacks against Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, and the underlying reason for their accusation that Judge Jackson has been lenient when sentencing pedophiles. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Rev. Dr. E. Faye Williams, President of the National Congress of Black Women (NCBW) discusses the confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and demonstrates the impact her nomination to the Supreme Court has had upon little Black girls with a video the NCBW produced highlighting youth holding their own confirmation hearing for the Judge Jackson. This conversation originally aired as a live social media conversation on March 22, 2022. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It's #ThursdayKos with Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKos and Civiqs and host of podcast "The Brief." Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) describes Day 2 of the SCOTUS Confirmation Hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, and the attacks by Republicans, including their effort to change the connotation of the nominee’s initials, “KBJ,” to be synonymous with “CRT,” as in Critical Race Theory. This episode originally aired live on social media on March 22, 2022. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

William Spriggs, AFL-CIO Chief Economist, Howard University Professor, and former Assistant Secretary of Labor, disputes the phenomenon labeled the “Great Resignation,” and calls it more of a Great Job Mismatch as employees are leaving employers who raised minimum wages only because state laws forced them, and are seeking jobs where they are more valued by employers. He discusses the roots of inflation, high gas prices and the fight to unionize workers at corporations that are anti-union—like Starbucks. Also, he explains how influential SCOTUS is in employment cases, in arbitration and in upholding corporate power, as the confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson commence. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Chad Stone, Chief Economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, returns for a quick review of the February jobs report and the state of our economy. We’re still climbing back from the job losses at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the numbers do show we’re in a better place. But as per usual, women and people of color are struggling to recover the most. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This is a “Best of MIP” episode from the archives. One of the most common reasons a person does not leave a domestic violence situation is because they don’t have the cash to do it. At FreeFrom, an organization dedicated to knocking down the barriers that prevent domestic violence survivors from holding economic and community power, Tannia Ventura and the team work to get direct cash payments to survivors so they regain their power. Tannia is the Director of Service Provider Engagement and Education and in today’s episode, we learn the ins and outs of getting those cash payments to survivors, how to heal the implicit mistrust of survivors when they ask for what they need, and what are the hopes and fears for the $5 billion dollars pledged by the Biden administration to supply cash payments directly to survivors. Mark and Tannia also dig into the fact that domestic violence needs to be solved at the community level and should not solely be the task of independent organizations, and what FreeFrom found in their

This is a “Best of MIP” episode from the archives. What’s the likelihood of an American experiencing poverty? Turns out, it’s the majority. That’s what Mark Rank covers in his new book (co-authored by Lawrence Eppard and Heather Bullock) out now, “Poorly Understood: What Americans Get Wrong About Poverty.” There’s a common misconception that poverty is an issue of “them” when it’s really about “us” -- not an individual failing, but a structural one. What does that play out in our society and economy? Mark explains that, and what can be done to make systemic changes, in this eye-opening episode. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This is a “Best of MIP” episode from the archives. Closing out our coverage of the 56th Bridge Crossing Jubilee in Selma, Mark speaks with Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., who details the significance of Selma to both himself and the country-at-large. He is then joined by Ilyasah Shabaaz, daughter of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, as well as author, community organizer, and activist. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This is a “Best of MIP” episode from the archives. Rev. Dr. Willian J. Barber II of the Poor People’s Campaign joined the discussion in Selma last weekend to draw the startling connection between poverty and voting rights. In this episode, Rev. Barber reminds us of the racist Southern Strategy from the 1960s and how it played out with not just Trump’s win, but continues to appear in the GOP’s ongoing efforts to suppress the vote of poor people and people of color. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This is a “Best of MIP” episode from the archives. Continuing the discussion and commemoration of the historic Bloody Sunday, last year, Mark spoke with Martin Luther King III while in Selma about his father’s legacy playing out in 2020. He shares his thoughts on his father’s teachings applied today and how he might feel about all that has unfolded recently in the fight for racial justice. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Three Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) veterans—Willie Mukasa Ricks, Bob Smith and the Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.—remember Bloody Sunday, the March from Selma to Montgomery, the origin of Black Power and MLK’s evolution to embrace Black Power. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

One of the youngest to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and one of the oldest living survivors of Bloody Sunday tell their stories. Joann Bland was 11 years old when she marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and she is now building footsoldierspark.org. Dr. George Sallies, 92, had no voting rights in 1965, even though he was a Korean War veteran. The force of the billy club’s blow is permanently visible upon his forehead. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Foot Soldiers Breakfast at the annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee is really a reunion of those who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge March 7, 1965. Evelyn Manns, Al Lingo, Jerry Harrison and Charles Mauldin tell their stories. And David Daley of FairVote.org ponders whether there is anything left of the Voting Rights Act the Foot Soldiers bled to have passed in 1965. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy