This Sunday, June 19th, marks the second observance of the Juneteenth National Independence Day (Juneteenth) federal holiday. Often referred to as the “2nd Independence Day” it commemorates the day, more than two months after the end of the Civil War, when enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas were informed of their freedom. Because the holiday falls on a Sunday this year, it will be observed on Monday, June 20, 2022 and federal government offices, federal courts, banks, post offices, schools, and the U.S. financial markets will be closed. Many private sector employers also give employees time off for the observance of Juneteenth.
The observance of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is a significant step in the United States’ reckoning with the moral stain of slavery. However, the ending of slavery and Constitutional protections did not do away with racism. From the post-civil war era until about 1968, so-called state and local Jim Crow laws enforced or legalized racial segregation. The discrimination continues today as highlighted by the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other African Americans by police officers; debates over the teaching of slavery in schools; and racial disparities in healthcare are some examples of the need to continue to address race and equality.
The need for equal justice under the law for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community is highlighted this month. Since 1969, Pride Month in June commemorates the years of struggle for equal rights for LGBTQ individuals. Pride Month also celebrates the accomplishments of the LGBTQ rights movement. In the last century, and especially the last two decades, there has been meaningful progress on LGBTQ rights in the United States. Accomplishments include the right for LGBTQ people to openly serve in the military, and same sex couples to marry and adopt children in any U.S. state. But more progress is still needed to achieve equality.
Progress is typically the objective whether on civil rights, affordable, quality healthcare or on a myriad of other things in our lives. But sometimes progress is elusive or at times, it is reversed.
This Weekend Reading Series begins with Yesterday is Here, with articles on healthcare areas where progress has been reversed. Next, check out Money for Nothing offering insights on healthcare fraud and waste. Do not miss The Weight of the World, covering the growing problem of medical debt. Last, but not least, check out There was a Time and my personal favorite, An Early Run-In With Censors Led Rod Serling to ‘The Twilight Zone’.
I hope you enjoy the following:
1. Yesterday is Here
- HealthDay: Boomers Sicker Than Their Parents Were at Same Age
- STAT: New report: gains in patient safety have stalled over the past decade
- Fierce Healthcare: WTW survey: 4 in 10 employees deferred healthcare in the past year
- HealthDay: Another Study Finds Ivermectin Useless Against COVID-19
2. Money for Nothing
- Becker’s Hospital Review: Telemedicine company owner sentenced to 14 years for $20M fraud scheme
- Miami Herald: A handyman, wives, Escalades, ghost pharmacies: A $9 million Miami drug coupon fraud
- NPR: When routine medical tests trigger a cascade of costly, unnecessary care
- The Verge: What Happens When Your Conception Begins With Deception?
3. The Weight of the World
- Kaiser Health News: 100 Million People in America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt
- Patient Engagement HIT: Patient Financial Responsibility Burdens Affect Pre-Medicare Crowd
- Kaiser Health News: Upended: How Medical Debt Changed Their Lives
- New England Journal of Medicine: Your Money or Your Life — The High Cost of Cancer Drugs under Medicare Part D
4. There was A Time
- JSTOR Daily: The Unbearable Middle Passage
- JSTOR Daily: The Long History of Same-Sex Marriage
- Smithsonian Magazine: An Early Run-In With Censors Led Rod Serling to ‘The Twilight Zone’ His failed attempts to bring the Emmett Till tragedy to television forced him to get creative
- JSTOR Daily: Inventing the Beach Read
Enjoy the weekend!
Best,
Suzanne
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.
AEPC President
P.O. Box 1416
Birmingham, MI 48012
Office: (248) 792-2187
Email: [email protected]
