On this episode of Queer Voices, we spotlight the fight for civil rights, the power of theater, and the challenges of aging in our community. First, the ACLU of Texas’ Brian Klosterboer breaks down the latest wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in Austin, including the bathroom ban and Senate Bill 12, and shares how lawsuits and grassroots action are pushing back. Then, director Rhett Martinez discusses The Last Yiddish Speaker, a dystopian play co-produced by Houston’s Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company and the Jewish Community Center. Finally, Richard Elbein from the Alzheimer’s Association of Southeast Texas explains a groundbreaking $3 billion state initiative to fund dementia research and what it means for LGBTQ elders and caregivers.
Queer Voices airs in Houston Texas on 90.1FM KPFT and is heard as a podcast here. Queer Voices hopes to entertain as well as illuminate LGBTQ issues in Houston and beyond. Check out our socials at:
https://www.facebook.com/QueerVoicesKPFT/ and
https://www.instagram.com/queervoices90.1kpft/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
This is KPFT 90.1 FM Houston, 89.5 FM Galveston, 91.9
FM Huntsville, and worldwide onthe internet at kpftorg.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hello everybody and thank you for listening to Queer
Voices, one of thelongest-running LGBTQ plus radio
shows in the entire UnitedStates.
Whether you're joining us onKPFT or wherever you get your
podcasts, we're glad you'rejoining us today, excited to
(00:41):
bring you today's episode, wherewe're spotlighting the fight
for civil rights, the power oftheater and the challenges of
aging in our community.
First, the ACLU of Texas' BrianKlosterbor breaks down the
latest wave of anti-LGBTQ pluslegislation in Austin, including
the Bathroom Bill and SenateBill 12, and shares how lawsuits
(01:05):
and grassroots actions arepushing back.
Then it's Brett to the future,with contributor Brett Cullen
speaking with director BrettMartinez as he discusses the
Last Yiddish Speaker, adystopian new play co-produced
by Houston's Milrids UmbrellaTheater Company and the Jewish
(01:25):
Community Center.
Finally, queer Voices executiveproducer Brian Levinka speaks
with Richard Alban from theAlzheimer's Association of
Southeast Texas, who explains agroundbreaking $3 billion state
initiative to fund dementiaresearch and what it means for
LGBTQ elders and caregivers.
(01:46):
Queer Voices starts now.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
This is Brian Leminka , and today I have the honor of
interviewing Brian Cluster-Moorefrom the ACLU of Texas.
Welcome, brian, thanks forhaving me.
So tell me what's going on inAustin and what are we doing to
fight it.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Yeah, it's been an incredibly rough year at the
Texas legislature, especiallyfor trans Texans and young trans
people here in Texas.
As we know, the last few yearsTexas legislators have been
relentless in targeting transyouth, especially now they've
also been going after transadults and really their goal is
(02:22):
to go after the entire LGBTQplus community, and some of the
laws passed this year have beenespecially devastating.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Why are they so hateful?
Why do they hate us so much?
Speaker 4 (02:32):
I know.
For a long time I thought itwas, you know, a short term
callous political gain.
Unfortunately so much money wasspent on anti-trans and
anti-LGBT.
Adds that last election cyclethat some lawmakers at least
think it's a successful strategy.
I'm very hopeful in the longrun that the pendulum is going
to swing back, that theseattacks will backfire on them
(02:56):
and kind of show their bigotryand hatred.
But it does feel like we're ata low point right now where
lawmakers, at least in onepolitical party, have been
relentless in kind of rollingback hard fought victories and
viciously targeting trans Texans.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Can you be specific about the legislature that's
passed and all the hate that'scoming out of Austin?
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Yeah, I think the two worst bills this year.
One was Senate Bill 12 thatpassed during the regular
legislative session this spring.
The other is Senate Bill 8,which is the bathroom ban.
The bathroom ban.
As many of your listeners willknow, in Texas we've been
fighting that off since 2015.
(03:39):
2017 was when there weremultiple special sessions.
Dan Patrick was pushing thebathroom ban.
You know we saw a huge responsefrom the business community,
from many conservatives,republicans, libertarians.
You know people who justthought that.
You know, let people use thebathroom in peace, go into a
private stall, lock the door,use what's best for them.
(04:03):
This version of the bathroom banactually even goes beyond just
restrooms.
It prohibits or it applies toany state agency or any building
owned, controlled or operatedby a local government entity.
So unfortunately, that wouldinclude all of the venues we
have in Houston, things like NRGStadium and the Houston Rodeo,
(04:27):
the Toyota Center, these airport, george Bush International
Airport.
You know these are allbuildings that are somewhat
controlled or operated bygovernment entities.
So in any of those facilities,the only possible good thing
about this awful bathroom ban isit's written in a very vague
way.
It says that the localgovernments must take every
(04:49):
reasonable step to ensure thatpeople are using facilities,
bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.
Based on their quote biologicalsex as determined at birth.
But, as we know, you know thereare many intersex people in
Texas.
Biological sex is not just abinary thing.
(05:09):
There are many people who aretransgender, who are non-binary,
who are intersex, and so it'snot actually clear how this new
law will be enforced.
We have 90 days until it goesinto effect and it's only
enforced against the cities, thelocal governments or state
agencies.
So no trans person can bearrested under this law, no one
(05:32):
can be sued under this law, butit will lead to a very hostile,
even more hostile environmenthere in Texas, where, you know,
our local governments and stateagencies are no longer allowed
to just let people use thefacilities that work best for
them.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
So what is the ACLU doing to fight this?
Speaker 4 (05:52):
So on the bathroom ban, we're still currently
assessing what possible optionswe may have.
It just passed last week.
We have 90 days till it goesinto effect.
Senate Bill 12 is the other justhorrendous law that is now in
effect.
It was passed and signed intolaw by Governor Abbott in June.
(06:13):
It is a very sprawling law thatdoes a number of things.
We just filed a lawsuit lastweek challenging four
unconstitutional aspects ofSenate Bill 12.
So Senate Bill 12 bans allclubs in all K-12 schools that
are based on gender, identity orsexual orientation.
(06:35):
So that is specificallytargeting what used to be called
gay-straight alliances.
Now they're called mainly genderand sexualities alliances, but
any kind of pride club or LGBTQclub in K-12 schools is now
prohibited.
Sb 12 also prevents any schoolemployee or third party from
(06:55):
providing any instruction,guidance, programming or
activities about race, genderidentity or sexual orientation,
and it prohibits any schoolemployee from quote assisting a
student's social transition, andthat part of the law is so
vague.
Unfortunately, we're seeing ithave a devastating impact in
(07:16):
Texas schools, where manyteachers and school employees
now feel like they have tomisgender or deadname trans and
non-binary students, even thosewho have maybe transitioned
years ago and have long beenusing their affirming name and
pronouns.
They're now actively beingdiscriminated against and
(07:38):
harassed in our Texas schools.
So we, along with theTransgender Law Center and the
law firm Baker McKenzie, filed alawsuit challenging four key
aspects of Senate Bill 12.
We filed that in federal courthere in Houston but we are now
awaiting to have a hearing andit'll take a few weeks, if not
(07:58):
months, for us to get a decisionfrom the court.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Can we talk about the bills that didn't pass?
That could have been worse thanwe received.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Yes, so, yeah.
So this really was the worstyear I recall at the Texas
legislature.
2023 was also a horrendous year, but so far, the last few years
, almost every legislativesession, the number of
anti-LGBTQ plus bills that arefiled has essentially doubled.
In 2023, it was over 100.
(08:27):
This time it was over 200.
90% plus of those were defeated, with many thanks to Equality
Texas, transgender EducationNetwork of Texas, tent, hrc,
texas Freedom Network, aclu andothers.
A bunch of groups and a bunchof people went to Austin
repeatedly.
Begged lawmakers do not focus onthese issues.
(08:50):
Provide us other.
You know, we need to fix ourpower grid, we need flood relief
, we need other things to focuson.
But, yeah, some lawmakers havejust fixated on targeting LGBTQ
plus Texans.
Like I said, they're reallyexpanding.
For several years, they weretargeting trans youth in
particular, and it was really acruel tactic because many trans
(09:12):
youth were not necessarily inthe position to go to Austin to
lobby for their rights and tofight back.
But now they've expanded theirtargeting to trans adults,
essentially trying to erasetransgender Texans and also
intersex Texans from existing.
So I think some of the worstbills that were defeated.
Thankfully, there was a billthat sought to essentially
(09:34):
criminalize all trans people,creating a criminal offense
called gender identity fraud.
That essentially would take usback decades to a time where
there were cross-dressing banshere in Houston and Texas.
People like Phyllis Frye in ourcity, you know, fought back in
the 70s and 80s against thesecross-dressing ordinances.
(09:56):
That essentially allowed thepolice to arrest any trans
person who was dresseddifferently than their sex
assigned at birth.
So it's sad to see some Texaslawmakers trying to drag us back
50 years to a time when transpeople could be arrested simply
for existing.
We believe laws like that wouldbe egregiously unconstitutional
(10:16):
, even amidst our currenthostile US Supreme Court.
The courts right now are reallynot friendly to trans Texans or
LGBTQ people in general.
But we do still have options,we do still have rights and I
think a law like that hopefullywill never pass.
But it's sad that even anyelected official thinks they
could even file that bill andnot immediately lose their
(10:39):
political career.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Besides getting out to vote, what else can people do
to help the ACLU?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Yeah, they can go to our website at ACLU, txorg.
It can be helpful to plug in tomake sure you're getting our
emails and updates, and we alsorun a website with Equality
Texas and other groups calledtxtranskidsorg.
There we have a student'srights toolkit and on the ACLU
website we have a student'srights hub with a lot of
(11:05):
information about Senate Bill 12.
We'll be updating our websitewith more information about the
bathroom ban as well as otherlaws that passed recently.
And, yeah, people can alwaysreach out to our legal intake as
well if they need legalassistance or if they see
discrimination in our community.
And it's more important thanever for us to have allies, for
(11:26):
us to keep supporting our localorganization.
We're lucky that I at leastlive in Houston and benefit from
the Montrose Center and theLGBTQ Plus Political Caucus and
other groups in Houston, that westill have a strong and vibrant
community here, but it is avery dark and difficult time in
our state more broadly for ourrights right now.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Absolutely Now.
Do you have any stories ofwhere the ACLU has helped people
in our community?
Speaker 4 (11:52):
Yeah, I think some of the most successful things do
come from our litigation thedrag ban, for example.
Our lawsuit against that isstill pending before the Fifth
Circuit Court of Appeals, but wehave successfully blocked the
Texas drag ban for the past twoyears.
So thankfully drag is stillfully legal and happening and
(12:14):
vibrant in our community.
But we do a lot ofnon-litigation work as well.
We've attended a bunch of localpride events, providing
resources.
We provide Know your Rightstrainings, both on LGBT rights
issues as well as immigration.
A lot of my colleaguesespecially have been hard at
work trying to counter just theawful targeting of migrants in
(12:37):
our communities here in Texasand providing resources and
support to different communityorganizations.
So those are a couple of thingsthat stick out.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
So how did you get into this line of work?
I mean, this must be very toughto deal with from day to day.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Yeah, I am grateful to be working there.
It unfortunately feels a littlebit like deja vu this time,
because I first joined the ACLUeight years ago or seven years
ago during the first Trumpadministration.
I was always, during law school, most focused on international
human rights.
I actually lived in Uganda fora year before law school and
(13:11):
worked a little bit with theLGBTQ plus community in Uganda,
which faces incredibly hostileand difficult circumstances in
an authoritarian regime wherethey are very actively targeted
and arrested by police and veryactively suppressed and arrested
by police and very activelysuppressed.
So I kind of went to law schooland then kept going back to
Uganda working in thatenvironment and thought I would
(13:33):
focus on international humanrights.
And then Trump was elected thefirst time and I thought, wow,
you know, here I was working fora federal judge here in Texas
doing a clerkship and I thought,wow, human rights abuses are
now really rampant here in Texas, unfortunately.
So then I applied to work atthe ACLU.
That was the first Trumpadministration.
(13:53):
The ACLU of Texas was in theprocess of growing quite
significantly just to respond toall of the civil rights and
human rights violations of thatfirst administration.
All of the civil rights andhuman rights violations of that
first administration.
So it is sad to have thathappening again and just seeing
such broad trampling of humanrights and civil rights here in
Texas and across our country andour own government doing a lot
(14:16):
of the same things as many ofthe authoritarian regimes I saw
and encountered abroad.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
So can you speak to the issues for LGBTQ plus
immigrants that are coming toour country and what kind of
challenges they face?
Speaker 4 (14:30):
Yeah, and I don't specifically work as much on
immigration so some of mycolleagues would know more, but
it's just been a really toughtime, I think, for any person
trying to find a safety comingto our country, to find a safety
coming to our country.
And yeah, it's really sad tosee such a rollback, especially
from I think you know we hadn'teven done a lot for LGBTQ plus
(14:55):
immigrants in previousadministrations, but now just
seeing the hostility and thehatred and kind of the ramping
up of deportations, it'sdevastating to see.
I've had close friends fromUganda who have sought and won
asylum here in our country andit was something I was proud of,
that we could provide a safeand welcoming community for
(15:17):
people who have to flee theirhomes.
And now is something that Ithink many of us are not proud
of that our country is becomingmore insular, less accepting and
just more cruel and hostile topeople all over the world.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
It's a very sad day.
Can you give some advice toyoung LGBTQ community members
that are kind of facing all ofthis for the first time in their
life, and what is the ACLUdoing to kind of help the
situation?
What advice would you give them?
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Yeah, I think people should hang in there.
Easier said than done, but it'sso important right now Find
community to find resilience.
I find resilience looking atsome of our elders in the LGBTQ
plus community and especially inthe trans community.
You know, thinking back topeople like Phyllis Fry who
built, you know, a vibrant transcommunity here in Houston.
(16:05):
People like Monica Roberts,andrea Molina, like just people
who have helped us grow andstart organizations and push
back.
Things are really bad right now,but if you think back to the
AIDS epidemic, I mean thingswere worse in many ways to
having our loved ones dying andbeing really targeted by hostile
(16:26):
politicians, and then, beforethat too, the trans community
with the cross-dressingordinances being outwardly
criminalized and arrested.
So things are really in a roughplace right now in terms of our
rights and government officialsnot respecting who we are as a
community and what we need.
But our community has been inthese tough spots before.
(16:47):
We will survive, we will endure.
Now we have to even prioritizeteaching each other about this
history.
So I'm glad that you have thispodcast, because now even this
conversation can no longerhappen in K-12 schools.
Our identities are nowprohibited from being discussed
both in the classroom and inactivities after school at clubs
(17:09):
.
So it's more important thanever that we let young people
know about the history of theLGBTQ community, the hard-fought
struggles and victories thathave been gained.
And then we have to stop thependulum from swinging against
us and need to push it back.
I hope these anti-LGBTQpoliticized attacks will
(17:29):
backfire on many of thepoliticians who are pushing them
.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
We can hope Now.
Do you have any upcoming eventsor ways people can find out
more about the ACLU?
Speaker 4 (17:39):
We regularly have webinars and Know your Rights
training, so I think followingus on social media and Instagram
, as well as going to ourwebsite, aclu TXorg, is the best
way to get plugged in.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Okay, I've been speaking with Brian Clusterbore
from the ACLU of Texas.
Thank you for coming on, brian.
Thank you, this is Queer Voices.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Thank you, Brian and Brian.
Now it's on to Brett and Brett,with contributor Brett Cullum
speaking with director BrettMartinez of the Last Yiddish
Speaker.
Take it away, Bretts.
Speaker 5 (18:12):
Hi, I'm Brett Cullum, and today I am talking with
Brett Martinez, who is thedirector of the Last Yiddish
Speaker, a play that is runningat the Jewish Community Center.
It is a co-production with theJCC and Houston's celebrated
theater company Mildred'sUmbrella.
It is playing through September21st at the JCC.
So thank you, Rhett, for takingthe time out talking with me.
(18:34):
Absolutely Glad to be here.
Yeah, Well, first up, tell mewhat this show is about, because
I think it's an interestingpremise Give it to me.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
In a nutshell, it is about a family living through a
dystopian future that's only afew years into our future, the
year 2029, in which try tofollow me on this see if you can
imagine America in this way.
It's an America run byright-wing conservative
(19:01):
Christians who oppress anyonewho isn't like them, to the
point of deporting them to othercountries, maybe like El
Salvador, and trying to oppressany kind of thought outside of
the mainstream that they agreewith.
This Jewish family is trying tosurvive in that world by
passing themselves off asChristians, and at the beginning
(19:22):
of the play, the inciting eventis that someone drops a woman
off who is a Jewish woman attheir house and says you must
hide her from the neo-Nazis whorule the country.
It's your turn, you have totake care of her.
And they have to decide what todo to put themselves at risk to
help save this woman and fightagainst the system that they're
living under.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
Wow, yeah.
No, this sounds like sciencefiction to me.
I can't see this happening.
Speaker 6 (19:46):
Impossible to imagine that ever happening.
Ironically, the origin of theplay was that it was written
after and in response tosomewhat in response to the
terrorist attack at the nation'scapital on January 6th what
they sometimes call theinsurrection.
It imagines if those people hadtaken over through violent
force that day and had succeededin the stated mission of those
people, had taken over throughviolent force that day and had
succeeded in the stated missionof those people, which was to
(20:09):
interrupt the lawful election ofthat president.
The play was written after that, but before the next
presidential election, in thatspot in between, when it seemed
like there would be no possibleway the world would turn in that
direction.
It's an interesting ironythat's created because those
(20:30):
people did take over, but theytook over at the ballot box.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
Yeah, they did.
Well, I noticed it's written byDeborah Zoe Laufer, if I'm
saying that right.
I think so, yeah, so, andMildred's Umbrella often
produces plays by women.
That is a mission directive ofthe company.
So obviously she wrote this andobviously dealing with some
themes that would appeal to theJCC audience as well, and just
everybody that's in a currentpolitical state.
(20:57):
But how did you come about?
I mean, how did you pick thisone as a company?
I mean, was it something thatyou just found lying on the
floor of the JCC?
There's?
Speaker 6 (21:07):
a competition, that this playwright won this
playwriting competition.
The play that was immediatelybefore the Wanderers was the one
before this.
I believe that the play I'mthinking of actually is Memoriam
, the other play Memoriam whichwas done at Main Street Theater.
If I'm remembering my factswhich I might not be, but I
think I am both the Last YiddishSpeaker and the play Memoriam,
(21:28):
which Main Street did, were inthe play competition.
If I'm remembering correctly,the Last Yiddish Speaker won
that competition.
Not that art is ever really acompetition, right, I mean,
there are no such thing aswinners in art, but nonetheless
it helped put those voicesforward.
So that's how it came up onJennifer Decker's radar.
One of the great things and yousaid a celebrated theater
company for many years is thatJennifer Decker, just man, she
(21:50):
knows how to pick great plays.
She really does.
That's just an amazing strengthof the company, and so that's
where this play originally camefrom.
The partnership with the JewishCommunity Center was something
that we had done for twoproductions, and this was the
second production of that cycle.
So it came from that source andit just it just.
So.
It came to me through JenniferDecker and it was not a play I
(22:17):
found, and I honestly don't knowthat this is a play I ever
would have sought out, which issomething I probably need to be
more aware of because it wouldhave fallen outside of my normal
radar.
And yet it makes perfect sensewith our company and what we do.
Of course it's women-centered,of course it's featuring women's
voices, and the main charactersthat drive this play are women
characters, and it even has themagical realism in it which is
something you often see atMildred's, not just your
(22:39):
contemporary modern realismplays Nothing wrong with that
but there's certainly a lot moreadventurous style and
adventurous forms that you seeat Mildred's.
So it's kind of something Ineed to be more aware of.
Like, why would this haveslipped through my radar, when
it absolutely fits in all waysfor our company?
Speaker 5 (22:55):
Well, I might be able to shed a little bit of light,
because I worked a lot with NagaFleishon and Memoriam or at
least I interviewed her a lotand this playwriting competition
I believe that Jennifer andsomeone at Main Street Theater
are on the judging panel, right,that's right.
So they get to see a lot ofthese scripts, and Naga's
production of Memoriam wasamazing.
I count it as one of the bestworld fairs that Houston has had
(23:18):
in a long time, and what'sfascinating about that work and
this one is they're both kind ofthis future vision of where
this is going and and you'veseen kind of a big tradition of
like afro futurism and anddifferent cultural futurism,
things like that, and this isalmost like, for lack of a
better thing, yiddish futurismyudayo futurism, something like
(23:41):
that you're right.
yes, exactly, and it'sinteresting that you've got both
of those elements runningthrough these plays, that both
came from the same source.
All right, so tell me a littlebit about who is in the cast.
Speaker 6 (23:51):
Well, at the center of our cast is, of course, the
woman playing Chava, a Houstonstar named Deborah Hope, and I
think everybody probablylistening to this podcast would
certainly know who Deborah Hopeis.
But if not, go look her upimmediately and she's just
(24:11):
absolutely wonderful.
And so it was a bit of astretch for Deborah, because
she's certainly not as old asthe character and she certainly
doesn't have the physicalattributes we had to do a lot of
hair and makeup stuff to gether into the zone, but she is
100 percent the actor we needed.
And so it starts with her atthe center of it.
And I'm really happy to have mygood friend Jason Duga back
working with me again atMildred's and again with
Jennifer Decker and again at theJCC, because he's just.
(24:33):
If I started to name people whoI consider to be core members,
he absolutely would be on thatlist.
He's just wonderful to workwith.
I had never worked with OliviaKnight, who was playing Sarah,
but of course knew who she was,and we were just really lucky
that we were able to get her.
She and Jason worked togetherperfectly as father and daughter
on stage, and Olivia Knight isjust an absolute force to be
(24:55):
reckoned with.
And then a brand new guy Inever met before, austin Brady,
who has come in and just been anabsolute delight, somebody I
did not know before this and I'mso glad I get to know him now.
It's really rare.
I think you and probablyeverybody listening knows it's
pretty rare to make a play, todo a production and honestly,
(25:17):
sincerely think that everyperson on the stage is
absolutely stellar.
It does happen Oftentimes.
I get involved in productionsas an actor, director or
playwright where most peopleinvolved are absolutely stellar
and that's considered a hugevictory.
But the rare times when youhave all four cylinders firing
(25:39):
on the same tempo, the same pace, the same scale, the same
caliber, something happens.
That is just different.
It really is different, and Ijust appreciate those and I'm
old enough now to know thatdoesn't happen all the time, so
you really got to be gratefulfor them when they happen.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
It does look like a top-notch cast.
And, of course, debra Hope, youare guaranteed at least one
episode of Car Takes with Joel,and I believe that was taped
last night.
Speaker 6 (26:04):
I believe it's going to be out there soon, if not
already.
It's already out there.
Oh good, I assumed it was.
I just got home from here'sanother fun thing having a day
job and then going and doingtheater at night.
I just got home from a day ofteaching school, so I hadn't
actually seen it yet whetherthey'd done it.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
Yes, I life.
But they actually draggedjennifer into the car so she
makes a cameo on their car takesfor the last unit speaker.
Speaker 6 (26:28):
So definitely go out and seek that out with the car
takes with they're always fun,are just always fun, and that
one's got probably got a littlemore silliness than the average
oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
That's what we love about them.
Come on, how can you not lovethat?
Well, let me ask you this,because I see you all the time
at mildred's.
You've kind of become a staplethere, directing shows and being
in shows and doing all theseother things.
How did you get involved withMildred's Umbrella?
What was your first?
Speaker 6 (26:51):
thing.
That is such a good question.
I'm so glad you asked.
I hope I don't get emotional,okay, so when my wife Sammy my
wife Sammy Sosinski, verysuccessful Houston actress, who,
a little quick sidebar, was afinalist for Best Supporting
Actress this year from HoustonPress for our Mildred's Umbrella
production of Cry it Out, shewas also in the Main Street
(27:13):
production of Memoriam.
Yes, it's a small, small littletown.
Everybody knows everybody, goodand bad.
We didn't used to knoweverybody when we came back.
We were from Houston, we wereborn and raised here, but then
we left and moved to New YorkCity, spent a number of years
there, did some theater and thendecided you know, what would be
really great is if we could buyone of those things I think
they're called a house andpeople live in them and you can
(27:35):
own them.
That's an impossibility in NewYork City.
So we came back home to Houstonand tried to settle down here
and we didn't know a lot of thetheater community people here in
town.
So we would go to plays atMildred's Umbrella and other
companies and we were just fans.
We just were big fans of thecompany.
We would go and watch the showsand love the shows and then
leave, not having any way of youknow, knowing these people.
(27:56):
It's kind of hard to imagineleaving a play now and not
talking to everybody at thestage door.
I really appreciate that.
That's where I am in my lifenow, that I do know a lot of
people.
But back when we didn't knowpeople, we were fans of
Mildred's because we went to seethe plays, because we never
heard of these plays outside ofMildred's umbrella, because
Decker is so good at findingthem, we would go to see the
(28:17):
material and then eventually, byauditioning, we got our foot in
the door at the company andthen, over a course of a number
of years, we got our foot in thedoor at the company and then,
over a course of a number ofyears, I find myself being
invited to become the associateartistic director of this
company that I admired as a fanfrom a distance, and I see
myself making that journey andit's pretty incredible, it's
(28:38):
pretty great.
Speaker 5 (28:39):
It's really incredible.
And now all of these littlecombinations are lining up with
you and Sammy.
And I'm like okay, this is why.
And you're both teachers on topof that aren't you?
Speaker 6 (28:49):
We're both teachers.
Yes, and it's Friday after along week.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
And you've got to go to the Jewish Community Center
and get ready for the lastJewish speaker.
But yeah, tell me a little bitabout the run, because I know
that their run is a little bitdifferent than the other houses.
I think you do.
Thursday, friday, sunday,thursday.
Speaker 6 (29:05):
Saturday, sunday, because Friday night is a Jewish
holiday.
Every week, that's theirSabbath Shabbos.
Oh, how did I get this wrong?
Okay, so not tonight.
So from Friday night at sundownto Saturday night at sundown.
So the Jewish Community Centeris actually closed on Friday
evenings.
It is open for business onSaturday because there are a lot
of people who attend and visitthe Jewish Community Center who
(29:25):
are not Jewish.
They go there for the amazingfacilities, which has all kinds
of incredible stuff, including aswimming pool and an amazing
gymnasium.
There's just a lot of greatstuff going on there.
So the people that are there onSaturday are the people that
are not observing that holiday.
But we only have performancesThursday night, saturday night,
sunday matinee, and the Sundaymatinee is kind of early it is
(29:48):
11 to one, which is an earliermatinee than I'm used to.
But as I get older and older, Igot to tell you, man, I love a
matinee.
Speaker 5 (29:55):
Especially when it starts at 11 too.
That's not bad.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
I like getting home before dark and laying on the
sofa with the dogs.
It's a pretty good thing, butthat is so.
That is part of the reason thatthe schedule looks a little
different.
We are therefore going to losethat Friday night show for the
three weeks that we run.
So it's only nine performancesas opposed to our usual 12.
We did have an invited dressrehearsal.
Because of the nature of theway the facility works in the
(30:17):
building, it's just not possibleto realistically do like a
Monday night industry night.
So it's only nine performances,one down, which means there's
only eight left.
So actually no.
I'm not going to the theatertonight.
It's Saturday and Sunday, luckyyou guess where?
Speaker 5 (30:31):
I'm going, but okay, I have to go to the theater, so
the Joe Frank theater is whatyou're in.
I think that a lot of peopledon't know this.
I mean, I really didn't knowthis until Jennifer started
doing plays there.
I was like the JCC has atheater.
And it's actually a really coolblack box kind of theater, very
intimate.
How many people do you seat?
Speaker 6 (30:49):
I think we have about 51, 53 seats, depending on if
we added a couple, and it's hadthe big theater there for a long
time.
I don't know if the big theaterhas a name or if it does what
it is, but it's just the bigtheater at the JCC, which is a
full proscenium stage,auditorium style.
Can't even imagine how manyseats they have in there.
It looks like a high schoolauditorium.
They put on productions thereall the time.
(31:10):
My wife, sammy Sosinski, backin the day in her youth
performed Grease there and shewas Rizzo, so we have a lot of
fond memories of that building.
I didn't know her back then.
But at any rate, the realhidden gem for me is that small
black box theater that wasreally underused.
Jennifer went in and just didsomething there years ago.
(31:31):
Two, three years ago it was areading.
Yeah, and then came back, Ithink, a year later and found
that the place had not beentouched, like the room had
basically been vacant thatentire time because things were
left where they left them.
And she asked have you guys notused this space since we were
in here last a year or almost ayear ago?
And they said, no, this spaceis almost never used.
(31:53):
And I was like, really, a blackbox theater in Houston that is
just sitting there that nobodyknew about.
So yeah, pretty interestingfind.
Speaker 5 (32:00):
Yeah, and it's looking at a 5601 South
Braeswood Boulevard for peoplethat don't know.
Speaker 6 (32:07):
Amazing facility, lots of parking, very safe.
It's like a dream, it's supereasy yeah.
Speaker 5 (32:10):
Yeah, it's amazing, so definitely worth it, and I've
seen the productions there anddefinitely planning to see the
last of the speakers, so I lookforward to cramming in with 50
of my closest friends andexperiencing Denver Hope.
Speaker 6 (32:22):
People saw the opening last night.
I know I'm not, you know I'mI'm pretty biased, but I sat in
the back quietly and waited forthe curtain call and people
leapt to their feet to give thema standing ovation.
It is just a knockout of a play.
People are going to love it.
It is hilariously funny.
It is incredibly moving.
It's a very serious subject.
Deborah Hope, as Chava, is sodelightfully charming and
(32:44):
hilarious that the play justworks on both those levels
pretty much throughout the wholething.
It's just.
It's just.
It's gonna be a big hit andwe're already sold out on a
couple of nights.
So if you're planning to go,you better, you better get them
quick right, we'll grab them all.
Speaker 5 (32:56):
Right, you can definitely get them at the
mildred's umbrella website,mildred's umbrellacom, so that's
easy.
So just go ahead and head overthere.
But thank you so much.
Right, it's so awesome to talkwith you about this and your
connections with Sammy andMildred's umbrella.
Speaker 6 (33:10):
Thank you so much.
It's good to do this.
Yeah, man, I'll look forward toseeing or hearing this.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Thank you, brett and Brett, to close out our show, we
have queer voices.
Executive Producer BrianLevinka back speaking with
Richard Alban from theAlzheimer's Association of
Southeast Texas, who explains agroundbreaking $3 billion state
initiative to fund dementiaresearch and what it means for
LGBTQ elders and caregivers.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
This is Brian Levinka , and today I'm joined by
Richard Alban, the ExecutiveDirector of the Alzheimer's
Association of Southeast Texas,joined by Richard Elbin, the
executive director of theAlzheimer's Association of
Southeast Texas.
Welcome to the show, richard,thank you.
Speaker 8 (33:49):
Good to be here.
Why are you here?
What's going on?
Why am I here?
Well, I mean, I think onereason I'm here is because
Alzheimer's disease and otherdementias affect so many people.
I mean, we're talking about 7million or more Americans living
with Alzheimer's across thecountry and almost half a
million just in Texas.
So it's a big issue that we'reall struggling with.
(34:10):
And I'm here, I think, first andforemost to talk about what the
state of Texas is proposing todo about Alzheimer's and
dementia, which is prettyexciting.
And what is that?
Well, so the legislature thissession passed a Dementia
Prevention and ResearchInstitute of Texas bill.
(34:31):
So they are proposing that wefund a $3 billion program which
is a lot of money over 10 years,which would fund the Dementia
Prevention and Research Fundfrom the state's general revenue
, and that money would spin offevery year $300 million to fund
(34:52):
dementia research, to findbetter treatments and ultimately
, a cure, which is, just to putit in context, the amount of
money per capita that comes tothe state of Texas currently
from the National Institutes ofHealth to fund dementia research
.
This fund would double thatamount.
So the amount per capita forresearch funding of Alzheimer's
(35:14):
and dementia would double in thestate of Texas.
If this fund is passed reallymind-blowing and the impact that
it could have on moving thefield forward and finding better
treatments and a cure fasterwould significantly accelerate.
So that's very exciting.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
And this would be the first of its kind in the
country Is that right?
That is correct.
Speaker 8 (35:37):
So right now there's nothing like this across the
country.
There is actually in the stateof Texas.
This is modeled after somethingthat was passed gosh, I want to
say it's probably been 15 wouldattract people from across the
country to come to Texas.
And also cancer research.
And if you look at Texas on themap, texas is seen as the
(36:27):
leading place, certainly in theUnited States, if not in the
world, around cancer research.
And that's because CPRIT waspassed all those years ago and
has been spinning $300 million ayear to attract researchers to
come to Texas and attractstartup companies that are
interested in research.
(36:48):
So this is this.
Dprit, the Dementia Preventionand Research Institute of Texas,
is modeled exactly after that.
So and I see the question aboutAlzheimer's research so right
now, alzheimer's research well,primarily Alzheimer's research
is conducted at academicinstitutions, heavily at medical
(37:10):
centers, medical schools, butsome at institutes of higher
learning.
So, for example, in the Houstonand Southeast Texas area,
there's massive amounts ofAlzheimer's and dementia
research being conducted atBaylor College of Medicine, at
Houston Methodist, at Universityof Texas Health Science Center
Houston, at the University ofHouston, at UTMB in Galveston,
(37:34):
there's some at Rice University.
So all of those, oh, I guess Ishould throw in Texas A&M, which
is considered part of the TexasMedical Center.
There's a lot of research beingdone also at Texas A&M, and
that would be true if we lookedacross the rest of the state.
That's true.
So UT Austin has research, utHealth Science Center in San
(37:55):
Antonio, ut Rio Grande Valley,ut El Paso, texas Tech all of
those institutions, utSouthwestern they're all
conducting a lot of research.
Most of it is funded throughthe National Institutes of
Health and the NationalInstitutes on Aging.
They also get some fundingthrough the Veterans
Administration.
(38:16):
So the VA has an interest indementia research because so
many veterans are aging and aredependent on their health system
, so they're interested infinding better treatments and
ultimately a cure.
So then the Alzheimer'sAssociation.
So we're the largest privatefunder of Alzheimer's research
in the world, and so, forexample, in the Houston area, we
(38:39):
fund around $10 million inAlzheimer's research currently.
But still that would all bedwarfed if and when I mean we
hope that it's a when thisdeep-read ballot initiative is
passed on November 4th, so that$3 billion package would fund
$300 million additional dollarsevery year.
(39:01):
The interesting thing that itdoes that may be a little
different is that whoever isfunded has to be in Texas.
So that means that if there arestartups or innovative
individuals or companies thatthink that they're developing
some great treatment or somegreat diagnostic tool, there's
(39:22):
every reason for them to move toTexas to make sure that they
have access and can apply forthose deep-root funds.
And so, in addition to the factthat it's going to drive
innovation and research, it'salso going to potentially drive,
it's going to create jobs inTexas and it's going to really
impact the state's economybecause these people will move
(39:45):
to Texas and bring their wisdomand hire employees to work in
their companies.
So it will create jobs as wellas attract top researchers from
around the world to come here tobe part of this really exciting
initiative exciting initiativeNow.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
Is the thinking that DPRIT will kind of follow the
path of CPRIT and kind of createthis like hub of intellectual
kind of energy, like the MDAnderson for Alzheimer's?
Is that the thinking, Exactly?
Speaker 8 (40:13):
I think the goal is for DPRIT to create enough
funding opportunity thatinstitutions will invest more
than they currently invest inAlzheimer's research and
treatment.
So both you know the researchpart is great.
What's equally needed is morerobust treatments for people
(40:35):
with Alzheimer's and places togo to get those treatments.
So we need institutions toinvest on the clinical side also
.
This really creates thatopportunity Because as
clinicians move to Texas withthe interest in conducting
research, they not only have tohave participants in their
research but they also need toprovide care for people so that
(40:57):
they keep their connection tothe community.
So the impact on familiescurrently dealing with
Alzheimer's means that they willhave more clinicians and more
clinicians with real expertisein the field.
So all the way around the fieldof dementia benefits in Texas
(41:18):
by having this kind of fundavailable.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
So we're an LGBTQ show.
Can you talk about Alzheimer'sin the LGBTQ community, dr
HANSON?
Speaker 8 (41:28):
Sure.
So the Alzheimer's Associationactually the LGBT community is
one of our priority communities,because what we see is that the
concern about finding aclinician who's going to be
(41:53):
receptive to our lifestyle ascompared with other people's and
be sensitive to the fact thatwe have a same-sex partner, and
that our circle of friends oftenis our closest family and wants
to help and support us so allof those reasons make just even
finding a clinical homechallenging.
(42:14):
And often there has been a lackof access to health care
throughout the lifespan.
So when someone gets to thepoint of being an older adult,
they may not have had the samesupport for their health over
their lifespan, which means thattheir risk factors may be
greater.
And then, of course, all thechallenges related to caregiving
, which is that there probablyare not, there may not be a
(42:38):
spouse and there probably arenot children.
So mobilizing the caregivernetwork that's needed for a
person with dementia is alsomore challenging for our
community than it may be forpeople from other communities.
So we, the Alzheimer'sAssociation, is very interested
in that and trying to addressthose barriers to care and also
(43:01):
those gaps in potentiallyreceiving the kinds of support
services that are needed.
I'm not sure that directly willbenefit that other than if
there are more services and ifthose services are more broadly
available.
It makes it more likely thatpeople will access diagnostics
sooner, and the sooner someoneis diagnosed, the more likely
(43:23):
they are to get aggressivetreatments and also to be able
to participate in the planning.
That's needed to figure out,and if you have the time to
think about it and you're ableto make decisions about your own
care, then it's easier to thinkabout how am I going to
mobilize the care when I need itin the future, where, if it
becomes a crisis, then everyoneis scrambling to try and make
(43:46):
sure that a person with dementiais fully supported and cared
for.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
So is dementia and Alzheimer's interchangeable?
Are they the same thing or isthere differences?
That's a great question.
Speaker 8 (43:57):
Brian Often.
We use them interchangeably,but the way to think about it is
dementia is an umbrella termand it describes a set of
symptoms.
So when we observe someone andI think all of us have friends
or family or know people who arefunctioning in a way that is
not the way they used tofunction, so we notice that
(44:20):
maybe their memory is slipping,or they repeat themselves, or
their handling of finances isnot quite as responsible as it
used to be, or they have somesignificant changes in behavior,
all of those things may suggestthat there's some cognitive
issue, and when those cognitiveissues start to affect daily
(44:41):
life, we generally refer to thatas dementia.
The question we would ask iswhat's causing the dementia?
And so that gets us to thinkingabout different diseases that
could cause dementia, and themost common disease that causes
dementia is Alzheimer's disease.
So somewhere between 60 and 80percent of all dementias are
(45:06):
caused by Alzheimer's disease,which starts in a certain part
of the brain and spreadsthroughout the brain.
So the reason we think aboutwhen we say the word Alzheimer's
, almost everyone thinks aboutmemory changes is because where
the disease Alzheimer's diseasestarts, the part of the brain
(45:26):
that it affects first is thememory center.
So people's short-term memorystarts to be affected and so
they repeat themselves or theycan't remember that they ate
breakfast or you know whatrestaurant they're going to, so
they get lost halfway goingsomewhere, driving.
So those are all related tomemory changes because that's
(45:48):
the first place that's affected.
But there are other forms ofdementia, other causes of
dementia which we hear about.
For example, I think there'sbeen a lot of discussion
recently about Bruce Willis whohas frontotemporal dementia.
Starts in the frontotemporallobe, which is why it's referred
to as frontotemporal dementia.
It manifests differently.
(46:09):
Memory is not the first thingthat's affected.
So you know it's a differentprocess but over time it affects
other parts of the brain.
Just like Alzheimer's,parkinson's starts as a mobility
issue, so there's mobilitychanges first.
But over time Parkinson'sdisease can affect, can have
(46:32):
cognitive changes and affectmemory.
So as it spreads through thebrain and starts to kill brain
cells at some point, it also canhave, can cause dementia.
So Parkinson's does not startas a dementia, but it can.
It can become a dementia, whichis in fact why this Proposition
14, which is the ballotinitiative for DEPRIT, the
(46:55):
Dementia Prevention and ResearchInstitute, it includes
Parkinson's as well asAlzheimer's and other forms of
dementia, and so that's why,when I talk about Alzheimer's
and then I mention dementia,it's to make sure that it's
inclusive of all the differentdementias that someone may
suffer from, but Alzheimer's isthe most common and the one that
(47:15):
people hear about most often.
Speaker 3 (47:17):
I've heard mention of the Poynter study.
Can you talk about that I?
Speaker 8 (47:21):
am absolutely delighted to talk about Poynter,
so that's really exciting.
So the Poynter study is afive-year study that just
concluded in the United States.
It's a study that looked at alifestyle intervention to reduce
the risk of Alzheimer's inpeople who are at risk of
(47:41):
dementia.
So people at risk of dementiajust to kind of give you an idea
about what we're talking aboutanyone who has a first-degree
relative with Alzheimer's is ata higher risk, so, in other
words, a parent, a sibling, achild.
So if someone in that firstdegree has Alzheimer's, our risk
is a little higher.
I have my mother, her sister,so my aunt, my grandmother on
(48:05):
one side, my grandfather on theother side, so I have an
elevated risk.
Just because they hadAlzheimer's, my risk is elevated
, so I would be a person at risk.
Also, though, if I hadhypertension, so if my blood
pressure were elevated, thatwould put me at risk.
If I had diabetes, that wouldput me at risk.
If I had heart disease, thatwould put me at risk.
(48:28):
Hypertension, takingcholesterol medications, all
those things are risk factors,and, of course, being older puts
us at risk because of thosefactors that I mentioned.
And then we studied, so we putthem on an exercise program, a
(49:01):
modified diet.
They engaged in some brainstimulation so doing brain games
or brain challenges.
They were engaged in socialactivities games or brain
challenges.
They were engaged in socialactivities.
So more than just the normal,they specifically it was
targeted active social typeengagement and then managing all
(49:23):
of those conditions that I justmentioned, so managing diabetes
, hypertension, cholesterollevels, so making sure that the
other diseases or other riskfactors were modified.
So they did this for two years.
The study had 2,100 peopleacross five sites in the United
States.
Houston was one of the fivesites and that's why I'm really
excited because our chapter, theAlzheimer's Association, was
(49:46):
part of the study, along withour principal investigators who
were at Baylor College ofMedicine, and we had clinical
partners at Kelsey Sebold.
So in Houston we had over 450people in the study.
And so this two-year study,which is not a long time what we
(50:06):
found at the end of that twoyears is that people who made
those lifestyle interventions orthose lifestyle modifications,
reduced their risk of developingdementia and significantly
reduced their risk, and peoplewho followed a structured
program had a better outcomethan people who did a kind of
(50:26):
self-guided.
You know, they learned aboutwhat healthy choices were and
they made the choices and theydid the intervention as they saw
fit versus folks who were moreactively coached.
So the folks who were activelycoached did the best.
But even the folks who made thedecisions on their own after
they were educated did better,significantly better, than
(50:48):
people who just lived the waythey normally live and went to
Chick-fil-A or did whatever.
And the impact is one to twoyears.
It postponed any development ofdementia by one to two years.
So this is they did a two-yearstudy and they essentially
gained one to two years from theprogram.
So we don't know what thelong-term implications are if
(51:11):
they end of the study.
We learned that in white peoplewe know that certain
(51:38):
interventions will have animpact, but we don't know in
African-American communities,latino communities, asian
communities.
So when the Alzheimer'sAssociation funded this study,
we said there have to be atleast a third of the
participants need to come fromdiverse communities and in
Houston our cohort of those 450plus people, 46% came from
(52:03):
diverse communities.
So we're going to walk awayknowing that these lifestyle
interventions work with everycommunity that exists in the
country and that the benefitwill have the same impact, that
we can feel confident that it'sworth people's time to make
these lifestyle interventions.
Speaker 3 (52:24):
So what is your advice for people, for friends
or family members trying tosupport someone with dementia
and Alzheimer's?
What can they do?
Speaker 8 (52:30):
Well, first and foremost, I would say a person
who's a caregiver.
They definitely should reachout to the Alzheimer's
Association and make sure thatthey are accessing all of the
resources that are available inthe community.
That would be true whetherthey're in Houston or Amarillo
(52:53):
or Timbuktu.
So we have a 800 number800-272-3900, which is answered
by Alzheimer's.
They're master's level socialworkers.
They can talk to them abouttheir specific situation and
(53:15):
give them a plan of action orconnect them with whatever
resources are in the community,whether it's here in Houston or
somewhere else.
They can go to our website atalzorg If they want to go to the
chapter website so to accessreally what's happening here in
the Houston and Southeast Texasarea, it's alzorg slash Texas
(53:37):
and find whatever resources.
We offer education programsboth in person and online.
We run support groups in personand online.
We have an app that can helpsupport families that are
dealing with dementia.
I would also say it's importantto make sure that you've gotten
an accurate diagnosis.
So sometimes the garden varietyphysician can only go so far in
(54:03):
assuring someone that whatthey're dealing with is
Alzheimer's and if it'sAlzheimer's, there's one
treatment.
If it's frontotemoral dementia,it's a different treatment.
My mother, actually, and hersister.
So both of them not only hadAlzheimer's, they had normal
pressure hydrocephalus, whichwas another cause of dementia
(54:23):
which was treatable to anacademic medical center.
For them to diagnose thatcorrectly and perform the
surgery to deal with that partof the dementia issue Just
making sure that they get anaccurate diagnosis they can
contact us to get some of thenames and contact information
(54:46):
for the academic medical centersthat really are centers of
excellence in the field ofAlzheimer's and dementia.
Speaker 3 (54:53):
Richard, is there anything that I didn't ask you,
that you'd like to let ourlisteners know about Alzheimer's
and dementia, and the pointerstudy and the proposition?
Speaker 8 (55:00):
Well, I guess what I would say is that the election
is on November 4th and so it isProposition 14.
So please just pay attention toProposition 14 in the ballot.
Make sure you read that fardown, don't just skip.
And then the other thing I'llsay about lifestyle is that the
same kinds of lifestyleinterventions that will help
(55:24):
reduce the risk of Alzheimer'smany of them also will reduce
the risk of cancer.
They'll reduce the risk ofheart disease.
So it's really worth thinkingabout incorporating some
exercise, daily activity.
Thinking about the diet that weused for this study was called
the MIND diet.
(55:44):
It's a combination ofMediterranean diet, which I
think most people are familiarwith, with a diet that
specifically is for hypertension, called the DASH diet, and so
basically it's eating a lot morethings that grow.
So it's much more leafy greensand berries and nuts and grains
and beans and a lot less meat.
(56:07):
So I will just say thatChick-fil-A would really not be
on the list, or McDonald'shamburgers, but some really, you
know, a lot more fresh produce.
And what we know is that whenyou make those choices, you will
improve your health.
And you know, it's so excitingto think we can do something
(56:27):
ourselves.
We don't have to wait to go toa doctor and have them give us a
pill, and in fact there's not apill that will have as much
impact as a lifestyleintervention.
So we are all more powerfulthan we know.
Speaker 3 (56:40):
If you're joining us.
We've been speaking withRichard Elbein, the executive
director of the Alzheimer'sAssociation of Southeast Texas,
and full disclosure.
I'm on the board of theAlzheimer's Association so I do
have an interest in this topic,so I appreciate you coming on,
Richard, Absolutely.
Speaker 8 (56:56):
Thank you so much for inviting me.
Speaker 3 (56:58):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (57:01):
This has been Queer Voices, heard on KPFT Houston
and as a podcast available fromseveral podcasting sources.
Check our webpageQueerVoicesorg for more
information.
Queer Voices executive produceris Brian Levinka.
Deborah Moncrief-Bell isco-producer Brett Cullum Davis
(57:25):
Mendoza-Druzman Ethan MichelleGans.
Mel Peterson and Joel Tatum arecontributors.
Speaker 7 (57:31):
Some of the material in this program has been edited
to improve clarity and runtime.
This program does not endorseany political views or animal
species.
Views, opinions andendorsements are those of the
participants and theorganizations they represent.
In case of death, pleasediscontinue use and discard
remaining products.
Speaker 1 (57:44):
For Queer Voices.
I'm Glenn Holt.
This is KPFT 90.1 FM Houston, 89.5 FM Galveston, 91.9
FM Huntsville, and worldwide onthe internet at kpftorg.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hello everybody and thank you for listening to Queer
Voices, one of thelongest-running LGBTQ plus radio
shows in the entire UnitedStates.
Whether you're joining us onKPFT or wherever you get your
podcasts, we're glad you'rejoining us today, excited to
(00:41):
bring you today's episode, wherewe're spotlighting the fight
for civil rights, the power oftheater and the challenges of
aging in our community.
First, the ACLU of Texas' BrianKlosterbor breaks down the
latest wave of anti-LGBTQ pluslegislation in Austin, including
the Bathroom Bill and SenateBill 12, and shares how lawsuits
(01:05):
and grassroots actions arepushing back.
Then it's Brett to the future,with contributor Brett Cullen
speaking with director BrettMartinez as he discusses the
Last Yiddish Speaker, adystopian new play co-produced
by Houston's Milrids UmbrellaTheater Company and the Jewish
(01:25):
Community Center.
Finally, queer Voices executiveproducer Brian Levinka speaks
with Richard Alban from theAlzheimer's Association of
Southeast Texas, who explains agroundbreaking $3 billion state
initiative to fund dementiaresearch and what it means for
LGBTQ elders and caregivers.
(01:46):
Queer Voices starts now.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
This is Brian Leminka , and today I have the honor of
interviewing Brian Cluster-Moorefrom the ACLU of Texas.
Welcome, brian, thanks forhaving me.
So tell me what's going on inAustin and what are we doing to
fight it.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Yeah, it's been an incredibly rough year at the
Texas legislature, especiallyfor trans Texans and young trans
people here in Texas.
As we know, the last few yearsTexas legislators have been
relentless in targeting transyouth, especially now they've
also been going after transadults and really their goal is
(02:22):
to go after the entire LGBTQplus community, and some of the
laws passed this year have beenespecially devastating.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
Why are they so hateful?
Why do they hate us so much?
Speaker 4 (02:32):
I know.
For a long time I thought itwas, you know, a short term
callous political gain.
Unfortunately so much money wasspent on anti-trans and
anti-LGBT.
Adds that last election cyclethat some lawmakers at least
think it's a successful strategy.
I'm very hopeful in the longrun that the pendulum is going
to swing back, that theseattacks will backfire on them
(02:56):
and kind of show their bigotryand hatred.
But it does feel like we're ata low point right now where
lawmakers, at least in onepolitical party, have been
relentless in kind of rollingback hard fought victories and
viciously targeting trans Texans.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Can you be specific about the legislature that's
passed and all the hate that'scoming out of Austin?
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Yeah, I think the two worst bills this year.
One was Senate Bill 12 thatpassed during the regular
legislative session this spring.
The other is Senate Bill 8,which is the bathroom ban.
The bathroom ban.
As many of your listeners willknow, in Texas we've been
fighting that off since 2015.
(03:39):
2017 was when there weremultiple special sessions.
Dan Patrick was pushing thebathroom ban.
You know we saw a huge responsefrom the business community,
from many conservatives,republicans, libertarians.
You know people who justthought that.
You know, let people use thebathroom in peace, go into a
private stall, lock the door,use what's best for them.
(04:03):
This version of the bathroom banactually even goes beyond just
restrooms.
It prohibits or it applies toany state agency or any building
owned, controlled or operatedby a local government entity.
So unfortunately, that wouldinclude all of the venues we
have in Houston, things like NRGStadium and the Houston Rodeo,
(04:27):
the Toyota Center, these airport, george Bush International
Airport.
You know these are allbuildings that are somewhat
controlled or operated bygovernment entities.
So in any of those facilities,the only possible good thing
about this awful bathroom ban isit's written in a very vague
way.
It says that the localgovernments must take every
(04:49):
reasonable step to ensure thatpeople are using facilities,
bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.
Based on their quote biologicalsex as determined at birth.
But, as we know, you know thereare many intersex people in
Texas.
Biological sex is not just abinary thing.
(05:09):
There are many people who aretransgender, who are non-binary,
who are intersex, and so it'snot actually clear how this new
law will be enforced.
We have 90 days until it goesinto effect and it's only
enforced against the cities, thelocal governments or state
agencies.
So no trans person can bearrested under this law, no one
(05:32):
can be sued under this law, butit will lead to a very hostile,
even more hostile environmenthere in Texas, where, you know,
our local governments and stateagencies are no longer allowed
to just let people use thefacilities that work best for
them.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
So what is the ACLU doing to fight this?
Speaker 4 (05:52):
So on the bathroom ban, we're still currently
assessing what possible optionswe may have.
It just passed last week.
We have 90 days till it goesinto effect.
Senate Bill 12 is the other justhorrendous law that is now in
effect.
It was passed and signed intolaw by Governor Abbott in June.
(06:13):
It is a very sprawling law thatdoes a number of things.
We just filed a lawsuit lastweek challenging four
unconstitutional aspects ofSenate Bill 12.
So Senate Bill 12 bans allclubs in all K-12 schools that
are based on gender, identity orsexual orientation.
(06:35):
So that is specificallytargeting what used to be called
gay-straight alliances.
Now they're called mainly genderand sexualities alliances, but
any kind of pride club or LGBTQclub in K-12 schools is now
prohibited.
Sb 12 also prevents any schoolemployee or third party from
(06:55):
providing any instruction,guidance, programming or
activities about race, genderidentity or sexual orientation,
and it prohibits any schoolemployee from quote assisting a
student's social transition, andthat part of the law is so
vague.
Unfortunately, we're seeing ithave a devastating impact in
(07:16):
Texas schools, where manyteachers and school employees
now feel like they have tomisgender or deadname trans and
non-binary students, even thosewho have maybe transitioned
years ago and have long beenusing their affirming name and
pronouns.
They're now actively beingdiscriminated against and
(07:38):
harassed in our Texas schools.
So we, along with theTransgender Law Center and the
law firm Baker McKenzie, filed alawsuit challenging four key
aspects of Senate Bill 12.
We filed that in federal courthere in Houston but we are now
awaiting to have a hearing andit'll take a few weeks, if not
(07:58):
months, for us to get a decisionfrom the court.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Can we talk about the bills that didn't pass?
That could have been worse thanwe received.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Yes, so, yeah.
So this really was the worstyear I recall at the Texas
legislature.
2023 was also a horrendous year, but so far, the last few years
, almost every legislativesession, the number of
anti-LGBTQ plus bills that arefiled has essentially doubled.
In 2023, it was over 100.
(08:27):
This time it was over 200.
90% plus of those were defeated, with many thanks to Equality
Texas, transgender EducationNetwork of Texas, tent, hrc,
texas Freedom Network, aclu andothers.
A bunch of groups and a bunchof people went to Austin
repeatedly.
Begged lawmakers do not focus onthese issues.
(08:50):
Provide us other.
You know, we need to fix ourpower grid, we need flood relief
, we need other things to focuson.
But, yeah, some lawmakers havejust fixated on targeting LGBTQ
plus Texans.
Like I said, they're reallyexpanding.
For several years, they weretargeting trans youth in
particular, and it was really acruel tactic because many trans
(09:12):
youth were not necessarily inthe position to go to Austin to
lobby for their rights and tofight back.
But now they've expanded theirtargeting to trans adults,
essentially trying to erasetransgender Texans and also
intersex Texans from existing.
So I think some of the worstbills that were defeated.
Thankfully, there was a billthat sought to essentially
(09:34):
criminalize all trans people,creating a criminal offense
called gender identity fraud.
That essentially would take usback decades to a time where
there were cross-dressing banshere in Houston and Texas.
People like Phyllis Frye in ourcity, you know, fought back in
the 70s and 80s against thesecross-dressing ordinances.
(09:56):
That essentially allowed thepolice to arrest any trans
person who was dresseddifferently than their sex
assigned at birth.
So it's sad to see some Texaslawmakers trying to drag us back
50 years to a time when transpeople could be arrested simply
for existing.
We believe laws like that wouldbe egregiously unconstitutional
(10:16):
, even amidst our currenthostile US Supreme Court.
The courts right now are reallynot friendly to trans Texans or
LGBTQ people in general.
But we do still have options,we do still have rights and I
think a law like that hopefullywill never pass.
But it's sad that even anyelected official thinks they
could even file that bill andnot immediately lose their
(10:39):
political career.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Besides getting out to vote, what else can people do
to help the ACLU?
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Yeah, they can go to our website at ACLU, txorg.
It can be helpful to plug in tomake sure you're getting our
emails and updates, and we alsorun a website with Equality
Texas and other groups calledtxtranskidsorg.
There we have a student'srights toolkit and on the ACLU
website we have a student'srights hub with a lot of
(11:05):
information about Senate Bill 12.
We'll be updating our websitewith more information about the
bathroom ban as well as otherlaws that passed recently.
And, yeah, people can alwaysreach out to our legal intake as
well if they need legalassistance or if they see
discrimination in our community.
And it's more important thanever for us to have allies, for
(11:26):
us to keep supporting our localorganization.
We're lucky that I at leastlive in Houston and benefit from
the Montrose Center and theLGBTQ Plus Political Caucus and
other groups in Houston, that westill have a strong and vibrant
community here, but it is avery dark and difficult time in
our state more broadly for ourrights right now.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Absolutely Now.
Do you have any stories ofwhere the ACLU has helped people
in our community?
Speaker 4 (11:52):
Yeah, I think some of the most successful things do
come from our litigation thedrag ban, for example.
Our lawsuit against that isstill pending before the Fifth
Circuit Court of Appeals, but wehave successfully blocked the
Texas drag ban for the past twoyears.
So thankfully drag is stillfully legal and happening and
(12:14):
vibrant in our community.
But we do a lot ofnon-litigation work as well.
We've attended a bunch of localpride events, providing
resources.
We provide Know your Rightstrainings, both on LGBT rights
issues as well as immigration.
A lot of my colleaguesespecially have been hard at
work trying to counter just theawful targeting of migrants in
(12:37):
our communities here in Texasand providing resources and
support to different communityorganizations.
So those are a couple of thingsthat stick out.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
So how did you get into this line of work?
I mean, this must be very toughto deal with from day to day.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
Yeah, I am grateful to be working there.
It unfortunately feels a littlebit like deja vu this time,
because I first joined the ACLUeight years ago or seven years
ago during the first Trumpadministration.
I was always, during law school, most focused on international
human rights.
I actually lived in Uganda fora year before law school and
(13:11):
worked a little bit with theLGBTQ plus community in Uganda,
which faces incredibly hostileand difficult circumstances in
an authoritarian regime wherethey are very actively targeted
and arrested by police and veryactively suppressed and arrested
by police and very activelysuppressed.
So I kind of went to law schooland then kept going back to
Uganda working in thatenvironment and thought I would
(13:33):
focus on international humanrights.
And then Trump was elected thefirst time and I thought, wow,
you know, here I was working fora federal judge here in Texas
doing a clerkship and I thought,wow, human rights abuses are
now really rampant here in Texas, unfortunately.
So then I applied to work atthe ACLU.
That was the first Trumpadministration.
(13:53):
The ACLU of Texas was in theprocess of growing quite
significantly just to respond toall of the civil rights and
human rights violations of thatfirst administration.
All of the civil rights andhuman rights violations of that
first administration.
So it is sad to have thathappening again and just seeing
such broad trampling of humanrights and civil rights here in
Texas and across our country andour own government doing a lot
(14:16):
of the same things as many ofthe authoritarian regimes I saw
and encountered abroad.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
So can you speak to the issues for LGBTQ plus
immigrants that are coming toour country and what kind of
challenges they face?
Speaker 4 (14:30):
Yeah, and I don't specifically work as much on
immigration so some of mycolleagues would know more, but
it's just been a really toughtime, I think, for any person
trying to find a safety comingto our country, to find a safety
coming to our country.
And yeah, it's really sad tosee such a rollback, especially
from I think you know we hadn'teven done a lot for LGBTQ plus
(14:55):
immigrants in previousadministrations, but now just
seeing the hostility and thehatred and kind of the ramping
up of deportations, it'sdevastating to see.
I've had close friends fromUganda who have sought and won
asylum here in our country andit was something I was proud of,
that we could provide a safeand welcoming community for
(15:17):
people who have to flee theirhomes.
And now is something that Ithink many of us are not proud
of that our country is becomingmore insular, less accepting and
just more cruel and hostile topeople all over the world.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
It's a very sad day.
Can you give some advice toyoung LGBTQ community members
that are kind of facing all ofthis for the first time in their
life, and what is the ACLUdoing to kind of help the
situation?
What advice would you give them?
Speaker 4 (15:43):
Yeah, I think people should hang in there.
Easier said than done, but it'sso important right now Find
community to find resilience.
I find resilience looking atsome of our elders in the LGBTQ
plus community and especially inthe trans community.
You know, thinking back topeople like Phyllis Fry who
built, you know, a vibrant transcommunity here in Houston.
(16:05):
People like Monica Roberts,andrea Molina, like just people
who have helped us grow andstart organizations and push
back.
Things are really bad right now,but if you think back to the
AIDS epidemic, I mean thingswere worse in many ways to
having our loved ones dying andbeing really targeted by hostile
(16:26):
politicians, and then, beforethat too, the trans community
with the cross-dressingordinances being outwardly
criminalized and arrested.
So things are really in a roughplace right now in terms of our
rights and government officialsnot respecting who we are as a
community and what we need.
But our community has been inthese tough spots before.
(16:47):
We will survive, we will endure.
Now we have to even prioritizeteaching each other about this
history.
So I'm glad that you have thispodcast, because now even this
conversation can no longerhappen in K-12 schools.
Our identities are nowprohibited from being discussed
both in the classroom and inactivities after school at clubs
(17:09):
.
So it's more important thanever that we let young people
know about the history of theLGBTQ community, the hard-fought
struggles and victories thathave been gained.
And then we have to stop thependulum from swinging against
us and need to push it back.
I hope these anti-LGBTQpoliticized attacks will
(17:29):
backfire on many of thepoliticians who are pushing them
.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
We can hope Now.
Do you have any upcoming eventsor ways people can find out
more about the ACLU?
Speaker 4 (17:39):
We regularly have webinars and Know your Rights
training, so I think followingus on social media and Instagram
, as well as going to ourwebsite, aclu TXorg, is the best
way to get plugged in.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Okay, I've been speaking with Brian Clusterbore
from the ACLU of Texas.
Thank you for coming on, brian.
Thank you, this is Queer Voices.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Thank you, Brian and Brian.
Now it's on to Brett and Brett,with contributor Brett Cullum
speaking with director BrettMartinez of the Last Yiddish
Speaker.
Take it away, Bretts.
Speaker 5 (18:12):
Hi, I'm Brett Cullum, and today I am talking with
Brett Martinez, who is thedirector of the Last Yiddish
Speaker, a play that is runningat the Jewish Community Center.
It is a co-production with theJCC and Houston's celebrated
theater company Mildred'sUmbrella.
It is playing through September21st at the JCC.
So thank you, Rhett, for takingthe time out talking with me.
(18:34):
Absolutely Glad to be here.
Yeah, Well, first up, tell mewhat this show is about, because
I think it's an interestingpremise Give it to me.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
In a nutshell, it is about a family living through a
dystopian future that's only afew years into our future, the
year 2029, in which try tofollow me on this see if you can
imagine America in this way.
It's an America run byright-wing conservative
(19:01):
Christians who oppress anyonewho isn't like them, to the
point of deporting them to othercountries, maybe like El
Salvador, and trying to oppressany kind of thought outside of
the mainstream that they agreewith.
This Jewish family is trying tosurvive in that world by
passing themselves off asChristians, and at the beginning
(19:22):
of the play, the inciting eventis that someone drops a woman
off who is a Jewish woman attheir house and says you must
hide her from the neo-Nazis whorule the country.
It's your turn, you have totake care of her.
And they have to decide what todo to put themselves at risk to
help save this woman and fightagainst the system that they're
living under.
Speaker 5 (19:39):
Wow, yeah.
No, this sounds like sciencefiction to me.
I can't see this happening.
Speaker 6 (19:46):
Impossible to imagine that ever happening.
Ironically, the origin of theplay was that it was written
after and in response tosomewhat in response to the
terrorist attack at the nation'scapital on January 6th what
they sometimes call theinsurrection.
It imagines if those people hadtaken over through violent
force that day and had succeededin the stated mission of those
people, had taken over throughviolent force that day and had
succeeded in the stated missionof those people, which was to
(20:09):
interrupt the lawful election ofthat president.
The play was written after that, but before the next
presidential election, in thatspot in between, when it seemed
like there would be no possibleway the world would turn in that
direction.
It's an interesting ironythat's created because those
(20:30):
people did take over, but theytook over at the ballot box.
Speaker 5 (20:35):
Yeah, they did.
Well, I noticed it's written byDeborah Zoe Laufer, if I'm
saying that right.
I think so, yeah, so, andMildred's Umbrella often
produces plays by women.
That is a mission directive ofthe company.
So obviously she wrote this andobviously dealing with some
themes that would appeal to theJCC audience as well, and just
everybody that's in a currentpolitical state.
(20:57):
But how did you come about?
I mean, how did you pick thisone as a company?
I mean, was it something thatyou just found lying on the
floor of the JCC?
There's?
Speaker 6 (21:07):
a competition, that this playwright won this
playwriting competition.
The play that was immediatelybefore the Wanderers was the one
before this.
I believe that the play I'mthinking of actually is Memoriam
, the other play Memoriam whichwas done at Main Street Theater.
If I'm remembering my factswhich I might not be, but I
think I am both the Last YiddishSpeaker and the play Memoriam,
(21:28):
which Main Street did, were inthe play competition.
If I'm remembering correctly,the Last Yiddish Speaker won
that competition.
Not that art is ever really acompetition, right, I mean,
there are no such thing aswinners in art, but nonetheless
it helped put those voicesforward.
So that's how it came up onJennifer Decker's radar.
One of the great things and yousaid a celebrated theater
company for many years is thatJennifer Decker, just man, she
(21:50):
knows how to pick great plays.
She really does.
That's just an amazing strengthof the company, and so that's
where this play originally camefrom.
The partnership with the JewishCommunity Center was something
that we had done for twoproductions, and this was the
second production of that cycle.
So it came from that source andit just it just.
So.
It came to me through JenniferDecker and it was not a play I
(22:17):
found, and I honestly don't knowthat this is a play I ever
would have sought out, which issomething I probably need to be
more aware of because it wouldhave fallen outside of my normal
radar.
And yet it makes perfect sensewith our company and what we do.
Of course it's women-centered,of course it's featuring women's
voices, and the main charactersthat drive this play are women
characters, and it even has themagical realism in it which is
something you often see atMildred's, not just your
(22:39):
contemporary modern realismplays Nothing wrong with that
but there's certainly a lot moreadventurous style and
adventurous forms that you seeat Mildred's.
So it's kind of something Ineed to be more aware of.
Like, why would this haveslipped through my radar, when
it absolutely fits in all waysfor our company?
Speaker 5 (22:55):
Well, I might be able to shed a little bit of light,
because I worked a lot with NagaFleishon and Memoriam or at
least I interviewed her a lotand this playwriting competition
I believe that Jennifer andsomeone at Main Street Theater
are on the judging panel, right,that's right.
So they get to see a lot ofthese scripts, and Naga's
production of Memoriam wasamazing.
I count it as one of the bestworld fairs that Houston has had
(23:18):
in a long time, and what'sfascinating about that work and
this one is they're both kind ofthis future vision of where
this is going and and you'veseen kind of a big tradition of
like afro futurism and anddifferent cultural futurism,
things like that, and this isalmost like, for lack of a
better thing, yiddish futurismyudayo futurism, something like
(23:41):
that you're right.
yes, exactly, and it'sinteresting that you've got both
of those elements runningthrough these plays, that both
came from the same source.
All right, so tell me a littlebit about who is in the cast.
Speaker 6 (23:51):
Well, at the center of our cast is, of course, the
woman playing Chava, a Houstonstar named Deborah Hope, and I
think everybody probablylistening to this podcast would
certainly know who Deborah Hopeis.
But if not, go look her upimmediately and she's just
(24:11):
absolutely wonderful.
And so it was a bit of astretch for Deborah, because
she's certainly not as old asthe character and she certainly
doesn't have the physicalattributes we had to do a lot of
hair and makeup stuff to gether into the zone, but she is
100 percent the actor we needed.
And so it starts with her atthe center of it.
And I'm really happy to have mygood friend Jason Duga back
working with me again atMildred's and again with
Jennifer Decker and again at theJCC, because he's just.
(24:33):
If I started to name people whoI consider to be core members,
he absolutely would be on thatlist.
He's just wonderful to workwith.
I had never worked with OliviaKnight, who was playing Sarah,
but of course knew who she was,and we were just really lucky
that we were able to get her.
She and Jason worked togetherperfectly as father and daughter
on stage, and Olivia Knight isjust an absolute force to be
(24:55):
reckoned with.
And then a brand new guy Inever met before, austin Brady,
who has come in and just been anabsolute delight, somebody I
did not know before this and I'mso glad I get to know him now.
It's really rare.
I think you and probablyeverybody listening knows it's
pretty rare to make a play, todo a production and honestly,
(25:17):
sincerely think that everyperson on the stage is
absolutely stellar.
It does happen Oftentimes.
I get involved in productionsas an actor, director or
playwright where most peopleinvolved are absolutely stellar
and that's considered a hugevictory.
But the rare times when youhave all four cylinders firing
(25:39):
on the same tempo, the same pace, the same scale, the same
caliber, something happens.
That is just different.
It really is different, and Ijust appreciate those and I'm
old enough now to know thatdoesn't happen all the time, so
you really got to be gratefulfor them when they happen.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
It does look like a top-notch cast.
And, of course, debra Hope, youare guaranteed at least one
episode of Car Takes with Joel,and I believe that was taped
last night.
Speaker 6 (26:04):
I believe it's going to be out there soon, if not
already.
It's already out there.
Oh good, I assumed it was.
I just got home from here'sanother fun thing having a day
job and then going and doingtheater at night.
I just got home from a day ofteaching school, so I hadn't
actually seen it yet whetherthey'd done it.
Speaker 5 (26:26):
Yes, I life.
But they actually draggedjennifer into the car so she
makes a cameo on their car takesfor the last unit speaker.
Speaker 6 (26:28):
So definitely go out and seek that out with the car
takes with they're always fun,are just always fun, and that
one's got probably got a littlemore silliness than the average
oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
That's what we love about them.
Come on, how can you not lovethat?
Well, let me ask you this,because I see you all the time
at mildred's.
You've kind of become a staplethere, directing shows and being
in shows and doing all theseother things.
How did you get involved withMildred's Umbrella?
What was your first?
Speaker 6 (26:51):
thing.
That is such a good question.
I'm so glad you asked.
I hope I don't get emotional,okay, so when my wife Sammy my
wife Sammy Sosinski, verysuccessful Houston actress, who,
a little quick sidebar, was afinalist for Best Supporting
Actress this year from HoustonPress for our Mildred's Umbrella
production of Cry it Out, shewas also in the Main Street
(27:13):
production of Memoriam.
Yes, it's a small, small littletown.
Everybody knows everybody, goodand bad.
We didn't used to knoweverybody when we came back.
We were from Houston, we wereborn and raised here, but then
we left and moved to New YorkCity, spent a number of years
there, did some theater and thendecided you know, what would be
really great is if we could buyone of those things I think
they're called a house andpeople live in them and you can
(27:35):
own them.
That's an impossibility in NewYork City.
So we came back home to Houstonand tried to settle down here
and we didn't know a lot of thetheater community people here in
town.
So we would go to plays atMildred's Umbrella and other
companies and we were just fans.
We just were big fans of thecompany.
We would go and watch the showsand love the shows and then
leave, not having any way of youknow, knowing these people.
(27:56):
It's kind of hard to imagineleaving a play now and not
talking to everybody at thestage door.
I really appreciate that.
That's where I am in my lifenow, that I do know a lot of
people.
But back when we didn't knowpeople, we were fans of
Mildred's because we went to seethe plays, because we never
heard of these plays outside ofMildred's umbrella, because
Decker is so good at findingthem, we would go to see the
(28:17):
material and then eventually, byauditioning, we got our foot in
the door at the company andthen, over a course of a number
of years, we got our foot in thedoor at the company and then,
over a course of a number ofyears, I find myself being
invited to become the associateartistic director of this
company that I admired as a fanfrom a distance, and I see
myself making that journey andit's pretty incredible, it's
(28:38):
pretty great.
Speaker 5 (28:39):
It's really incredible.
And now all of these littlecombinations are lining up with
you and Sammy.
And I'm like okay, this is why.
And you're both teachers on topof that aren't you?
Speaker 6 (28:49):
We're both teachers.
Yes, and it's Friday after along week.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
And you've got to go to the Jewish Community Center
and get ready for the lastJewish speaker.
But yeah, tell me a little bitabout the run, because I know
that their run is a little bitdifferent than the other houses.
I think you do.
Thursday, friday, sunday,thursday.
Speaker 6 (29:05):
Saturday, sunday, because Friday night is a Jewish
holiday.
Every week, that's theirSabbath Shabbos.
Oh, how did I get this wrong?
Okay, so not tonight.
So from Friday night at sundownto Saturday night at sundown.
So the Jewish Community Centeris actually closed on Friday
evenings.
It is open for business onSaturday because there are a lot
of people who attend and visitthe Jewish Community Center who
(29:25):
are not Jewish.
They go there for the amazingfacilities, which has all kinds
of incredible stuff, including aswimming pool and an amazing
gymnasium.
There's just a lot of greatstuff going on there.
So the people that are there onSaturday are the people that
are not observing that holiday.
But we only have performancesThursday night, saturday night,
sunday matinee, and the Sundaymatinee is kind of early it is
(29:48):
11 to one, which is an earliermatinee than I'm used to.
But as I get older and older, Igot to tell you, man, I love a
matinee.
Speaker 5 (29:55):
Especially when it starts at 11 too.
That's not bad.
Speaker 6 (29:57):
I like getting home before dark and laying on the
sofa with the dogs.
It's a pretty good thing, butthat is so.
That is part of the reason thatthe schedule looks a little
different.
We are therefore going to losethat Friday night show for the
three weeks that we run.
So it's only nine performancesas opposed to our usual 12.
We did have an invited dressrehearsal.
Because of the nature of theway the facility works in the
(30:17):
building, it's just not possibleto realistically do like a
Monday night industry night.
So it's only nine performances,one down, which means there's
only eight left.
So actually no.
I'm not going to the theatertonight.
It's Saturday and Sunday, luckyyou guess where?
Speaker 5 (30:31):
I'm going, but okay, I have to go to the theater, so
the Joe Frank theater is whatyou're in.
I think that a lot of peopledon't know this.
I mean, I really didn't knowthis until Jennifer started
doing plays there.
I was like the JCC has atheater.
And it's actually a really coolblack box kind of theater, very
intimate.
How many people do you seat?
Speaker 6 (30:49):
I think we have about 51, 53 seats, depending on if
we added a couple, and it's hadthe big theater there for a long
time.
I don't know if the big theaterhas a name or if it does what
it is, but it's just the bigtheater at the JCC, which is a
full proscenium stage,auditorium style.
Can't even imagine how manyseats they have in there.
It looks like a high schoolauditorium.
They put on productions thereall the time.
(31:10):
My wife, sammy Sosinski, backin the day in her youth
performed Grease there and shewas Rizzo, so we have a lot of
fond memories of that building.
I didn't know her back then.
But at any rate, the realhidden gem for me is that small
black box theater that wasreally underused.
Jennifer went in and just didsomething there years ago.
(31:31):
Two, three years ago it was areading.
Yeah, and then came back, Ithink, a year later and found
that the place had not beentouched, like the room had
basically been vacant thatentire time because things were
left where they left them.
And she asked have you guys notused this space since we were
in here last a year or almost ayear ago?
And they said, no, this spaceis almost never used.
(31:53):
And I was like, really, a blackbox theater in Houston that is
just sitting there that nobodyknew about.
So yeah, pretty interestingfind.
Speaker 5 (32:00):
Yeah, and it's looking at a 5601 South
Braeswood Boulevard for peoplethat don't know.
Speaker 6 (32:07):
Amazing facility, lots of parking, very safe.
It's like a dream, it's supereasy yeah.
Speaker 5 (32:10):
Yeah, it's amazing, so definitely worth it, and I've
seen the productions there anddefinitely planning to see the
last of the speakers, so I lookforward to cramming in with 50
of my closest friends andexperiencing Denver Hope.
Speaker 6 (32:22):
People saw the opening last night.
I know I'm not, you know I'mI'm pretty biased, but I sat in
the back quietly and waited forthe curtain call and people
leapt to their feet to give thema standing ovation.
It is just a knockout of a play.
People are going to love it.
It is hilariously funny.
It is incredibly moving.
It's a very serious subject.
Deborah Hope, as Chava, is sodelightfully charming and
(32:44):
hilarious that the play justworks on both those levels
pretty much throughout the wholething.
It's just.
It's just.
It's gonna be a big hit andwe're already sold out on a
couple of nights.
So if you're planning to go,you better, you better get them
quick right, we'll grab them all.
Speaker 5 (32:56):
Right, you can definitely get them at the
mildred's umbrella website,mildred's umbrellacom, so that's
easy.
So just go ahead and head overthere.
But thank you so much.
Right, it's so awesome to talkwith you about this and your
connections with Sammy andMildred's umbrella.
Speaker 6 (33:10):
Thank you so much.
It's good to do this.
Yeah, man, I'll look forward toseeing or hearing this.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Thank you, brett and Brett, to close out our show, we
have queer voices.
Executive Producer BrianLevinka back speaking with
Richard Alban from theAlzheimer's Association of
Southeast Texas, who explains agroundbreaking $3 billion state
initiative to fund dementiaresearch and what it means for
LGBTQ elders and caregivers.
Speaker 3 (33:38):
This is Brian Levinka , and today I'm joined by
Richard Alban, the ExecutiveDirector of the Alzheimer's
Association of Southeast Texas,joined by Richard Elbin, the
executive director of theAlzheimer's Association of
Southeast Texas.
Welcome to the show, richard,thank you.
Speaker 8 (33:49):
Good to be here.
Why are you here?
What's going on?
Why am I here?
Well, I mean, I think onereason I'm here is because
Alzheimer's disease and otherdementias affect so many people.
I mean, we're talking about 7million or more Americans living
with Alzheimer's across thecountry and almost half a
million just in Texas.
So it's a big issue that we'reall struggling with.
(34:10):
And I'm here, I think, first andforemost to talk about what the
state of Texas is proposing todo about Alzheimer's and
dementia, which is prettyexciting.
And what is that?
Well, so the legislature thissession passed a Dementia
Prevention and ResearchInstitute of Texas bill.
(34:31):
So they are proposing that wefund a $3 billion program which
is a lot of money over 10 years,which would fund the Dementia
Prevention and Research Fundfrom the state's general revenue
, and that money would spin offevery year $300 million to fund
(34:52):
dementia research, to findbetter treatments and ultimately
, a cure, which is, just to putit in context, the amount of
money per capita that comes tothe state of Texas currently
from the National Institutes ofHealth to fund dementia research
.
This fund would double thatamount.
So the amount per capita forresearch funding of Alzheimer's
(35:14):
and dementia would double in thestate of Texas.
If this fund is passed reallymind-blowing and the impact that
it could have on moving thefield forward and finding better
treatments and a cure fasterwould significantly accelerate.
So that's very exciting.
Speaker 3 (35:33):
And this would be the first of its kind in the
country Is that right?
That is correct.
Speaker 8 (35:37):
So right now there's nothing like this across the
country.
There is actually in the stateof Texas.
This is modeled after somethingthat was passed gosh, I want to
say it's probably been 15 wouldattract people from across the
country to come to Texas.
And also cancer research.
And if you look at Texas on themap, texas is seen as the
(36:27):
leading place, certainly in theUnited States, if not in the
world, around cancer research.
And that's because CPRIT waspassed all those years ago and
has been spinning $300 million ayear to attract researchers to
come to Texas and attractstartup companies that are
interested in research.
(36:48):
So this is this.
Dprit, the Dementia Preventionand Research Institute of Texas,
is modeled exactly after that.
So and I see the question aboutAlzheimer's research so right
now, alzheimer's research well,primarily Alzheimer's research
is conducted at academicinstitutions, heavily at medical
(37:10):
centers, medical schools, butsome at institutes of higher
learning.
So, for example, in the Houstonand Southeast Texas area,
there's massive amounts ofAlzheimer's and dementia
research being conducted atBaylor College of Medicine, at
Houston Methodist, at Universityof Texas Health Science Center
Houston, at the University ofHouston, at UTMB in Galveston,
(37:34):
there's some at Rice University.
So all of those, oh, I guess Ishould throw in Texas A&M, which
is considered part of the TexasMedical Center.
There's a lot of research beingdone also at Texas A&M, and
that would be true if we lookedacross the rest of the state.
That's true.
So UT Austin has research, utHealth Science Center in San
(37:55):
Antonio, ut Rio Grande Valley,ut El Paso, texas Tech all of
those institutions, utSouthwestern they're all
conducting a lot of research.
Most of it is funded throughthe National Institutes of
Health and the NationalInstitutes on Aging.
They also get some fundingthrough the Veterans
Administration.
(38:16):
So the VA has an interest indementia research because so
many veterans are aging and aredependent on their health system
, so they're interested infinding better treatments and
ultimately a cure.
So then the Alzheimer'sAssociation.
So we're the largest privatefunder of Alzheimer's research
in the world, and so, forexample, in the Houston area, we
(38:39):
fund around $10 million inAlzheimer's research currently.
But still that would all bedwarfed if and when I mean we
hope that it's a when thisdeep-read ballot initiative is
passed on November 4th, so that$3 billion package would fund
$300 million additional dollarsevery year.
(39:01):
The interesting thing that itdoes that may be a little
different is that whoever isfunded has to be in Texas.
So that means that if there arestartups or innovative
individuals or companies thatthink that they're developing
some great treatment or somegreat diagnostic tool, there's
(39:22):
every reason for them to move toTexas to make sure that they
have access and can apply forthose deep-root funds.
And so, in addition to the factthat it's going to drive
innovation and research, it'salso going to potentially drive,
it's going to create jobs inTexas and it's going to really
impact the state's economybecause these people will move
(39:45):
to Texas and bring their wisdomand hire employees to work in
their companies.
So it will create jobs as wellas attract top researchers from
around the world to come here tobe part of this really exciting
initiative exciting initiativeNow.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
Is the thinking that DPRIT will kind of follow the
path of CPRIT and kind of createthis like hub of intellectual
kind of energy, like the MDAnderson for Alzheimer's?
Is that the thinking, Exactly?
Speaker 8 (40:13):
I think the goal is for DPRIT to create enough
funding opportunity thatinstitutions will invest more
than they currently invest inAlzheimer's research and
treatment.
So both you know the researchpart is great.
What's equally needed is morerobust treatments for people
(40:35):
with Alzheimer's and places togo to get those treatments.
So we need institutions toinvest on the clinical side also
.
This really creates thatopportunity Because as
clinicians move to Texas withthe interest in conducting
research, they not only have tohave participants in their
research but they also need toprovide care for people so that
(40:57):
they keep their connection tothe community.
So the impact on familiescurrently dealing with
Alzheimer's means that they willhave more clinicians and more
clinicians with real expertisein the field.
So all the way around the fieldof dementia benefits in Texas
(41:18):
by having this kind of fundavailable.
Speaker 3 (41:21):
So we're an LGBTQ show.
Can you talk about Alzheimer'sin the LGBTQ community, dr
HANSON?
Speaker 8 (41:28):
Sure.
So the Alzheimer's Associationactually the LGBT community is
one of our priority communities,because what we see is that the
concern about finding aclinician who's going to be
(41:53):
receptive to our lifestyle ascompared with other people's and
be sensitive to the fact thatwe have a same-sex partner, and
that our circle of friends oftenis our closest family and wants
to help and support us so allof those reasons make just even
finding a clinical homechallenging.
(42:14):
And often there has been a lackof access to health care
throughout the lifespan.
So when someone gets to thepoint of being an older adult,
they may not have had the samesupport for their health over
their lifespan, which means thattheir risk factors may be
greater.
And then, of course, all thechallenges related to caregiving
, which is that there probablyare not, there may not be a
(42:38):
spouse and there probably arenot children.
So mobilizing the caregivernetwork that's needed for a
person with dementia is alsomore challenging for our
community than it may be forpeople from other communities.
So we, the Alzheimer'sAssociation, is very interested
in that and trying to addressthose barriers to care and also
(43:01):
those gaps in potentiallyreceiving the kinds of support
services that are needed.
I'm not sure that directly willbenefit that other than if
there are more services and ifthose services are more broadly
available.
It makes it more likely thatpeople will access diagnostics
sooner, and the sooner someoneis diagnosed, the more likely
(43:23):
they are to get aggressivetreatments and also to be able
to participate in the planning.
That's needed to figure out,and if you have the time to
think about it and you're ableto make decisions about your own
care, then it's easier to thinkabout how am I going to
mobilize the care when I need itin the future, where, if it
becomes a crisis, then everyoneis scrambling to try and make
(43:46):
sure that a person with dementiais fully supported and cared
for.
Speaker 3 (43:51):
So is dementia and Alzheimer's interchangeable?
Are they the same thing or isthere differences?
That's a great question.
Speaker 8 (43:57):
Brian Often.
We use them interchangeably,but the way to think about it is
dementia is an umbrella termand it describes a set of
symptoms.
So when we observe someone andI think all of us have friends
or family or know people who arefunctioning in a way that is
not the way they used tofunction, so we notice that
(44:20):
maybe their memory is slipping,or they repeat themselves, or
their handling of finances isnot quite as responsible as it
used to be, or they have somesignificant changes in behavior,
all of those things may suggestthat there's some cognitive
issue, and when those cognitiveissues start to affect daily
(44:41):
life, we generally refer to thatas dementia.
The question we would ask iswhat's causing the dementia?
And so that gets us to thinkingabout different diseases that
could cause dementia, and themost common disease that causes
dementia is Alzheimer's disease.
So somewhere between 60 and 80percent of all dementias are
(45:06):
caused by Alzheimer's disease,which starts in a certain part
of the brain and spreadsthroughout the brain.
So the reason we think aboutwhen we say the word Alzheimer's
, almost everyone thinks aboutmemory changes is because where
the disease Alzheimer's diseasestarts, the part of the brain
(45:26):
that it affects first is thememory center.
So people's short-term memorystarts to be affected and so
they repeat themselves or theycan't remember that they ate
breakfast or you know whatrestaurant they're going to, so
they get lost halfway goingsomewhere, driving.
So those are all related tomemory changes because that's
(45:48):
the first place that's affected.
But there are other forms ofdementia, other causes of
dementia which we hear about.
For example, I think there'sbeen a lot of discussion
recently about Bruce Willis whohas frontotemporal dementia.
Starts in the frontotemporallobe, which is why it's referred
to as frontotemporal dementia.
It manifests differently.
(46:09):
Memory is not the first thingthat's affected.
So you know it's a differentprocess but over time it affects
other parts of the brain.
Just like Alzheimer's,parkinson's starts as a mobility
issue, so there's mobilitychanges first.
But over time Parkinson'sdisease can affect, can have
(46:32):
cognitive changes and affectmemory.
So as it spreads through thebrain and starts to kill brain
cells at some point, it also canhave, can cause dementia.
So Parkinson's does not startas a dementia, but it can.
It can become a dementia, whichis in fact why this Proposition
14, which is the ballotinitiative for DEPRIT, the
(46:55):
Dementia Prevention and ResearchInstitute, it includes
Parkinson's as well asAlzheimer's and other forms of
dementia, and so that's why,when I talk about Alzheimer's
and then I mention dementia,it's to make sure that it's
inclusive of all the differentdementias that someone may
suffer from, but Alzheimer's isthe most common and the one that
(47:15):
people hear about most often.
Speaker 3 (47:17):
I've heard mention of the Poynter study.
Can you talk about that I?
Speaker 8 (47:21):
am absolutely delighted to talk about Poynter,
so that's really exciting.
So the Poynter study is afive-year study that just
concluded in the United States.
It's a study that looked at alifestyle intervention to reduce
the risk of Alzheimer's inpeople who are at risk of
(47:41):
dementia.
So people at risk of dementiajust to kind of give you an idea
about what we're talking aboutanyone who has a first-degree
relative with Alzheimer's is ata higher risk, so, in other
words, a parent, a sibling, achild.
So if someone in that firstdegree has Alzheimer's, our risk
is a little higher.
I have my mother, her sister,so my aunt, my grandmother on
(48:05):
one side, my grandfather on theother side, so I have an
elevated risk.
Just because they hadAlzheimer's, my risk is elevated
, so I would be a person at risk.
Also, though, if I hadhypertension, so if my blood
pressure were elevated, thatwould put me at risk.
If I had diabetes, that wouldput me at risk.
If I had heart disease, thatwould put me at risk.
(48:28):
Hypertension, takingcholesterol medications, all
those things are risk factors,and, of course, being older puts
us at risk because of thosefactors that I mentioned.
And then we studied, so we putthem on an exercise program, a
(49:01):
modified diet.
They engaged in some brainstimulation so doing brain games
or brain challenges.
They were engaged in socialactivities games or brain
challenges.
They were engaged in socialactivities.
So more than just the normal,they specifically it was
targeted active social typeengagement and then managing all
(49:23):
of those conditions that I justmentioned, so managing diabetes
, hypertension, cholesterollevels, so making sure that the
other diseases or other riskfactors were modified.
So they did this for two years.
The study had 2,100 peopleacross five sites in the United
States.
Houston was one of the fivesites and that's why I'm really
excited because our chapter, theAlzheimer's Association, was
(49:46):
part of the study, along withour principal investigators who
were at Baylor College ofMedicine, and we had clinical
partners at Kelsey Sebold.
So in Houston we had over 450people in the study.
And so this two-year study,which is not a long time what we
(50:06):
found at the end of that twoyears is that people who made
those lifestyle interventions orthose lifestyle modifications,
reduced their risk of developingdementia and significantly
reduced their risk, and peoplewho followed a structured
program had a better outcomethan people who did a kind of
(50:26):
self-guided.
You know, they learned aboutwhat healthy choices were and
they made the choices and theydid the intervention as they saw
fit versus folks who were moreactively coached.
So the folks who were activelycoached did the best.
But even the folks who made thedecisions on their own after
they were educated did better,significantly better, than
(50:48):
people who just lived the waythey normally live and went to
Chick-fil-A or did whatever.
And the impact is one to twoyears.
It postponed any development ofdementia by one to two years.
So this is they did a two-yearstudy and they essentially
gained one to two years from theprogram.
So we don't know what thelong-term implications are if
(51:11):
they end of the study.
We learned that in white peoplewe know that certain
(51:38):
interventions will have animpact, but we don't know in
African-American communities,latino communities, asian
communities.
So when the Alzheimer'sAssociation funded this study,
we said there have to be atleast a third of the
participants need to come fromdiverse communities and in
Houston our cohort of those 450plus people, 46% came from
(52:03):
diverse communities.
So we're going to walk awayknowing that these lifestyle
interventions work with everycommunity that exists in the
country and that the benefitwill have the same impact, that
we can feel confident that it'sworth people's time to make
these lifestyle interventions.
Speaker 3 (52:24):
So what is your advice for people, for friends
or family members trying tosupport someone with dementia
and Alzheimer's?
What can they do?
Speaker 8 (52:30):
Well, first and foremost, I would say a person
who's a caregiver.
They definitely should reachout to the Alzheimer's
Association and make sure thatthey are accessing all of the
resources that are available inthe community.
That would be true whetherthey're in Houston or Amarillo
(52:53):
or Timbuktu.
So we have a 800 number800-272-3900, which is answered
by Alzheimer's.
They're master's level socialworkers.
They can talk to them abouttheir specific situation and
(53:15):
give them a plan of action orconnect them with whatever
resources are in the community,whether it's here in Houston or
somewhere else.
They can go to our website atalzorg If they want to go to the
chapter website so to accessreally what's happening here in
the Houston and Southeast Texasarea, it's alzorg slash Texas
(53:37):
and find whatever resources.
We offer education programsboth in person and online.
We run support groups in personand online.
We have an app that can helpsupport families that are
dealing with dementia.
I would also say it's importantto make sure that you've gotten
an accurate diagnosis.
So sometimes the garden varietyphysician can only go so far in
(54:03):
assuring someone that whatthey're dealing with is
Alzheimer's and if it'sAlzheimer's, there's one
treatment.
If it's frontotemoral dementia,it's a different treatment.
My mother, actually, and hersister.
So both of them not only hadAlzheimer's, they had normal
pressure hydrocephalus, whichwas another cause of dementia
(54:23):
which was treatable to anacademic medical center.
For them to diagnose thatcorrectly and perform the
surgery to deal with that partof the dementia issue Just
making sure that they get anaccurate diagnosis they can
contact us to get some of thenames and contact information
(54:46):
for the academic medical centersthat really are centers of
excellence in the field ofAlzheimer's and dementia.
Speaker 3 (54:53):
Richard, is there anything that I didn't ask you,
that you'd like to let ourlisteners know about Alzheimer's
and dementia, and the pointerstudy and the proposition?
Speaker 8 (55:00):
Well, I guess what I would say is that the election
is on November 4th and so it isProposition 14.
So please just pay attention toProposition 14 in the ballot.
Make sure you read that fardown, don't just skip.
And then the other thing I'llsay about lifestyle is that the
same kinds of lifestyleinterventions that will help
(55:24):
reduce the risk of Alzheimer'smany of them also will reduce
the risk of cancer.
They'll reduce the risk ofheart disease.
So it's really worth thinkingabout incorporating some
exercise, daily activity.
Thinking about the diet that weused for this study was called
the MIND diet.
(55:44):
It's a combination ofMediterranean diet, which I
think most people are familiarwith, with a diet that
specifically is for hypertension, called the DASH diet, and so
basically it's eating a lot morethings that grow.
So it's much more leafy greensand berries and nuts and grains
and beans and a lot less meat.
(56:07):
So I will just say thatChick-fil-A would really not be
on the list, or McDonald'shamburgers, but some really, you
know, a lot more fresh produce.
And what we know is that whenyou make those choices, you will
improve your health.
And you know, it's so excitingto think we can do something
(56:27):
ourselves.
We don't have to wait to go toa doctor and have them give us a
pill, and in fact there's not apill that will have as much
impact as a lifestyleintervention.
So we are all more powerfulthan we know.
Speaker 3 (56:40):
If you're joining us.
We've been speaking withRichard Elbein, the executive
director of the Alzheimer'sAssociation of Southeast Texas,
and full disclosure.
I'm on the board of theAlzheimer's Association so I do
have an interest in this topic,so I appreciate you coming on,
Richard, Absolutely.
Speaker 8 (56:56):
Thank you so much for inviting me.
Speaker 3 (56:58):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (57:01):
This has been Queer Voices, heard on KPFT Houston
and as a podcast available fromseveral podcasting sources.
Check our webpageQueerVoicesorg for more
information.
Queer Voices executive produceris Brian Levinka.
Deborah Moncrief-Bell isco-producer Brett Cullum Davis
(57:25):
Mendoza-Druzman Ethan MichelleGans.
Mel Peterson and Joel Tatum arecontributors.
Speaker 7 (57:31):
Some of the material in this program has been edited
to improve clarity and runtime.
This program does not endorseany political views or animal
species.
Views, opinions andendorsements are those of the
participants and theorganizations they represent.
In case of death, pleasediscontinue use and discard
remaining products.
Speaker 1 (57:44):
For Queer Voices.
I'm Glenn Holt.
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