Baseless Bias, Pride & Prejudice, Being Dad & What’s Bugging You?

Marking Milestones

In the days of the Roman Empire, roads were marked by milestone markers set 1,000 paces apart. Made of stone or marble, the markers not only provided the distance to Rome or the next city, but often included the date the road was constructed and the emperor at that time. This practice of using milestones along roads to mark distance found its way to Europe and eventually to the US.

Over time, milestones gave way to mile marker posts – which today are of less importance given GPS. While interest in road milestones has dwindled, the celebration of personal achievements and “life moments”  has not. The same is true of when it comes to marking the progress of America in meeting the ideals crafted by the Founding Fathers.

This month two important milestones in our country’s journey to ensure equality to all Americans are celebrated. First, June is a Pride month – a celebration of the work of individuals who have fought and continue to fight for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) equality. The second milestone is the celebration of Juneteenth on Monday, June 19th. This federal holiday commemorates the day that the news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas – more than two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln had issued the proclamation.

Pride month and Juneteenth mark milestones of progress, but not the end of the journey. Black and LGBQT Americans continue to face discrimination in many facets of their lives. And certainly one of the greatest inequalities facing them today lies in the healthcare system – a problem that all too often results in lives cuts short. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.”

Be sure to check out this edition of The Download for more on the challenges of healthcare disparities for Black and LGBTQ communities.

Happy Reading!

Suzanne Daniels