Rev. Mark A. Thompson has spent most of his life as a political, civil, and human rights activist and organizer. A seasoned radio and television personality, Thompson has participated in major social justice events over the past 40 years. He is currently host of the award-winning podcast “Make It Plain (MIP).” In 2021, his podcast was named among Best Civil Rights Podcasts, Best Human Rights Podcasts, Best Podcasts About Social Justice, and Best Broadcast Television Podcasts.

Thompson began his broadcast career in 1988 with Radio One, Inc. and his career as a news correspondent for WOL-AM. He has co-hosted with Dick Gregory and featured guests like Petey Greene. His podcast, “MIP,” was the first talk show to sign on XM Satellite Radio (2001). Thompson was the first African American radio personality in the U.S. to host a daily, national show in a progressive/liberal talk format.

His ministry, broadcasting, and activism have taken him to the streets of Soweto and Johannesburg, South Africa in the wake of the country’s first democratic election and Nelson Mandela’s death to the streets of Florida, Missouri, and Maryland in the aftermath of the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Freddie Gray. In 2013, Thompson was arrested for exercising nonviolent, civil disobedience. He has broadcasted from every Democratic National Convention and NAACP convention for almost two decades and was honored at the 104th Annual NAACP Convention in July 2013 “for 25 years of crusading journalism and outstanding leadership in furthering the work of civil and human rights.”As a Georgetown University first-year undergrad in 1985, Thompson was one of the organizers of the shantytown built on Copley Lawn, which led to the university’s divestment from apartheid South Africa. While he was a correspondent for the Georgetown student newspaper, his editors at The Hoya resisted calls to censor his coverage of the Reagan Administration’s “constructive engagement”’ with the apartheid regime despite White House pressure upon university officials. While at Georgetown, he served one of his mentors, men’s basketball coach John Thompson, Jr., as a manager for the Hoyas.

Thompson is a Life Member of the NAACP, the National Action Network, the National Congress of Black Women, and the National Organization of Women. He is also a member of the Senior Advisory Board for the Institute of Politics, Policy and History at the University of the District of Columbia and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference. He is an active organizer for the Poor People’s Campaign, the Black Church Political Action Committee, and Community First Solutions, and works in solidarity with Black Voters Matter and Until Freedom. 

Thompson attended Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service before earning his bachelor’s in journalism from the University of the District of Columbia. He went on to obtain his Master’s in Divinity from Howard University. Thompson currently lives in New York, NY, and is a proud father of two children.