This is The Dossier.
We deliver news, history and culture straight to your inbox—served with a generous side of soul.
The Dossier is the essential daily briefing that keeps you inspired and informed.
Election Day is 46 days away.
📉 Black Americans are still dying of cancer at the highest rates
In which the racial caste structure of American society explains the disparity:
“The U.S. has made significant strides against cancer in the past two decades, with death rates dropping and survivors living longer — but Black Americans are still being left behind.”
“A report published Wednesday by the American Association for Cancer Research highlights the ‘glaring’ racial disparities in cancer care, including the stark statistic that Black Americans have the highest overall death rate from cancer of any racial or ethnic group in the nation, and have for the past four decades.”
Where people live matters. Socioeconomic status matters for health. Where people live dictates what resources they have access to. It influences what environmental exposures they have, whether that be lead or asbestos or a dump site, and the food they eat.
Socioeconomic injustices and health care inequities are undoubtedly the root of and the foundation of the health disparities we see in the U.S., and we can’t ignore that. We can make a lot of progress in our understanding of how cancers manifest in different people, but without addressing those inequalities, these disparities will always exist.
- Dr. Karen Winkfield
(NBC News)
Read the full report and watch the briefing below:
🗳 Federal judge temporarily blocks USPS operational changes amid concerns about mail slowdowns, election
“The suit, filed by Washington and 13 other states, sought a broad injunction prohibiting the Postal Service from implementing operational changes, distribution center closures and removal of mail-sorting machines, among other changes, absent an opinion by the Postal Regulatory Commission.”
“In his decision, [Stanley A. Bastian, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington] largely granted that request, ordering the Postal Service to reverse any instructions for mail carriers to leave mail behind at postal facilities, to stop requiring trucks to leave at set times regardless of whether the mail is ready and to allow return trips to distribution centers to ensure ‘timely delivery.’”
“The USPS must also treat all election mail according to first-class delivery standards and replace or restore the equipment required to do that. Any request to ‘reconnect or replace any decommissioned or removed sorting machine(s)’ must be directed through the court for approval, unless the USPS has already approved it.”
(Washington Post)
🇧🇧 Barbados revives plan to remove Queen as head of state and become a republic
“Barbados would join Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica and Guyana if it proceeds with its plan to become a republic. Jamaica has also flagged such a transition, with the recently re-elected prime minister, Andrew Holness, saying he wanted to put the proposal to ‘a grand referendum.’”
“In the Caribbean, the Queen remains head of state of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada Jamaica, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines. There has been speculation some countries are waiting for the succession to spark a debate.”
(The Guardian)
Check out Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s interview with the ABC:
🎥 4 Films You Need to Watch This Fall
David Sims at The Atlantic has you covered:
David Byrne’s American Utopia (a Spike Lee Joint)
“Through each beautifully choreographed song, Byrne demonstrates the thrill of watching people perform in sync. But he tempers that glee with stark reminders of how much remains broken outside of his theatrical space, and how much work remains to be done—by others and by himself.”
Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland
“The film is a worthy exploration of the lost American dream, focusing on communities laid to waste by an economic crisis the country has already begun to forget.”
Regina King’s One Night in Miami
“King’s film, which will be released by Amazon later this year, imagines a fictional meeting between historical heavyweights: Sam Cooke (played by Leslie Odom Jr.), Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge), and Cassius Clay (Eli Goree), before he was known as Muhammad Ali. Based on Kemp Powers’s play of the same name, the film is set after Clay’s first victory over Sonny Liston, in 1964, when a celebratory hangout turns into a debate over the best way to build a better America.”
Sam Pollard’s MLK/FBI
“The film is a sobering watch and a timely reminder that King’s struggle for racial justice wasn’t straightforward, nor is it close to complete. MLK/FBI examines King’s political deftness, the way he calibrated his message to reach a broad audience, and the horror with which the FBI regarded his popularity… The director wants to underline that a man who might seem obviously inspiring today was perceived as an existential threat to the nation by Hoover—in contrast to the popular, whitewashed image of King having always been seen as a conciliator beloved by all.”