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A look at the public health landscape in Austin · Austin Signal

• 0:11
  Austin Public Health has experienced
• 0:13
  some federal and city budget cuts
• 0:15
  this year and the failure of
• 0:16
  Proposition Q means some of those
• 0:18
  holds won't be filled.
• 0:20
  A look at the public health
• 0:21
  landscape in Austin.
• 0:24
  And you know the old Fox Central
• 0:25
  Library in downtown Austin?
• 0:27
  It became the Austin History Center
• 0:28
  and has been redone after a
• 0:30
  renovation that was eight years in
• 0:32
  the making. We'll hear about what's
• 0:33
  new in a place showcasing
• 0:37
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:39
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:41
  Jennifer Stayton.
• 0:43
  Plus we'll hear from the Black
• 0:44
  Austin Matters podcast and their
• 0:46
  guest, Pastor Galen Clark
• 0:48
  of Greater Mount Zion Baptist
• 0:50
  Church.
• 0:51
  All of that is coming up on Austin
• 0:53
  Signal.
• 0:54
  Stay with us.
• 1:09
  Hello everyone and thanks for
• 1:10
  joining us for Austin
• 1:12
  Signal.
• 1:13
  It's Monday, December 15th.
• 1:15
  I'm Jennifer Stayton, very
• 1:17
  happy to be with you.
• 1:19
  Sitting in for Jerry Kehano who's
• 1:21
  enjoying a bit of a holiday
• 1:23
  breather, but don't worry, he'll be
• 1:25
  back with you before the year is
• 1:27
  out.
• 1:29
  The holiday season is staring
• 1:31
  a smack in the face and that means
• 1:33
  hopefully some time off for you,
• 1:35
  a little break and.
• 1:36
  Maybe some gatherings with friends
• 1:38
  and family, and that can mean an
• 1:40
  increased risk of getting or
• 1:42
  spreading illnesses like the flu or
• 1:43
  COVID. And of course, that's not
• 1:45
  even to mention allergies this time
• 1:47
  of year in Central Texas.
• 1:48
  So with all of this swirling, it
• 1:50
  seemed like a good time for us to
• 1:52
  check up on public health in Austin.
• 1:54
  A lot has happened in that arena
• 1:55
  this year.
• 1:56
  And here to do that is KUT's health
• 1:57
  reporter, Olivia Aldrich.
• 1:59
  Hi, Olivia.
• 2:00
  Hi, Jen.
• 2:01
  Thanks so much for coming in.
• 2:03
  So, Olivia, Austin voters rejected
• 2:05
  proposition Q this fall,
• 2:07
  which would have allowed the city of
• 2:09
  Austin to raise property taxes
• 2:11
  above the state mandated ceiling to,
• 2:13
  in addition to some other things,
• 2:15
  plug some holes in Austin's budget.
• 2:17
  How did that defeat impact
• 2:19
  Austin Public Health?
• 2:21
  And its programs.
• 2:22
  So if Prop Q had passed, there would
• 2:24
  have been around $1.3
• 2:26
  million more in Austin Public
• 2:28
  Health's budget.
• 2:29
  There was some rearrangement of
• 2:31
  the budget to fill certain holes,
• 2:33
  but in terms of stuff that we
• 2:35
  saw just totally go, that includes
• 2:37
  $800,000 for HIV
• 2:39
  and STI testing and prevention,
• 2:42
  some funding to help with
• 2:43
  vaccination efforts, and then
• 2:44
  other various one-time funding to
• 2:46
  help, with grants that were lost or
• 2:48
  at risk.
• 2:49
  That HIV funding loss and how it
• 2:51
  could affect vulnerable people is
• 2:53
  something that local activists spoke
• 2:54
  to this month on World AIDS Day
• 2:56
  amid cuts at the federal level for
• 2:58
  this as well. This is Paulette
• 3:00
  Soltani of the group Vocal TX.
• 3:03
  Cuts like this mean fewer tests,
• 3:06
  means fewer outreach workers,
• 3:09
  fewer case managers, more people
• 3:10
  falling through the cracks.
• 3:12
  So Olivia, you mentioned,
• 3:14
  we're hearing about cuts at the
• 3:15
  local level, but you also mentioned
• 3:17
  cuts at federal level.
• 3:19
  So all of this locally is happening
• 3:20
  after federal cuts earlier
• 3:22
  this year to some public health
• 3:24
  initiatives. Remind us how
• 3:26
  awesome public health was impacted
• 3:27
  by those.
• 3:29
  Yeah, you know, this funding they
• 3:30
  missed out on with Prop Q, it's
• 3:32
  not a huge amount compared to the
• 3:34
  agency's total budget, but it's in
• 3:36
  this broader context of a tough year
• 3:38
  for local public health agencies.
• 3:40
  APH lost millions of dollars in
• 3:42
  federal grants this year, which
• 3:43
  resulted in cutting more than two
• 3:45
  dozen full-time staff members.
• 3:47
  There could be more.
• 3:49
  This is stuff like HIV funding.
• 3:51
  There were a number of COVID-era
• 3:52
  grants that were or were
• 3:54
  not renewed.
• 3:55
  So less funding for vaccination
• 3:57
  programs, lost funding for
• 3:59
  a refugee clinic that does a lot of
• 4:00
  tuberculosis prevention and testing.
• 4:03
  That one appears to still sort of be
• 4:04
  in limbo right now because there's
• 4:06
  litigation going on, but
• 4:08
  also some funding used for disease
• 4:09
  surveillance that was cut.
• 4:11
  So detection of potential outbreaks.
• 4:14
  So Olivia, sort of looking at
• 4:16
  all the things that have been
• 4:17
  impacted, you mentioned among other
• 4:18
  things, vaccines, vaccinations,
• 4:21
  refugee health clinics.
• 4:22
  Are there any other ways to
• 4:25
  fund or provide
• 4:27
  those services that have been cut,
• 4:29
  any way to keep those going?
• 4:31
  Tricky because Austin Public Health
• 4:33
  has traditionally relied a lot on
• 4:35
  federal grants.
• 4:36
  Around 50% of their staff are
• 4:38
  supported by grant funding, which is
• 4:40
  different from a lot of city
• 4:41
  departments.
• 4:42
  They did work to address some things
• 4:44
  during this past budget season, and
• 4:46
  throughout the year folks at APH
• 4:47
  told me about, you know, taking
• 4:49
  staff from one program that's
• 4:51
  been cut and plugging them into
• 4:52
  another to problem-solve
• 4:54
  and also save some people's jobs.
• 4:57
  So it depends.
• 4:58
  But the fact is those federal
• 5:00
  funding losses continue to be tough
• 5:01
  to adjust to.
• 5:03
  Austin Public Health gave a
• 5:04
  statement to me after Prop
• 5:06
  Q basically saying this one time
• 5:08
  funding change that Prop Q would
• 5:10
  have provided wouldn't have solved
• 5:11
  the critical issue facing
• 5:13
  the department, which is disruptions
• 5:15
  in federal funding.
• 5:16
  So Olivia.
• 5:17
  Overall, if you sort of were to take
• 5:19
  a step back, how would you say that
• 5:21
  public health in Austin has been
• 5:23
  impacted then by the cuts
• 5:24
  you've been describing?
• 5:27
  I think there's still so much
• 5:29
  uncertainty and we're still sort
• 5:31
  of waiting to see what the potential
• 5:32
  impacts are going to be.
• 5:34
  So for like, for instance, Austin
• 5:35
  public health leaders have warned
• 5:37
  that reduced funding for their
• 5:38
  immunization unit could result
• 5:40
  in fewer people getting vaccinated
• 5:42
  for serious stuff like measles.
• 5:44
  And that could mean more
• 5:45
  hospitalizations and strain on the
• 5:47
  healthcare system if we see an
• 5:49
  outbreak here in central Texas.
• 5:51
  So Olivia, I want to pivot just a
• 5:53
  little bit in the minute or so we
• 5:55
  have left. There's another public
• 5:56
  health issue on a lot of people's
• 5:58
  minds today.
• 5:58
  It's the deadline for open
• 6:00
  enrollment for health insurance in
• 6:02
  the Obamacare marketplace.
• 6:03
  Remind us what's happening with
• 6:05
  today's enrollment deadline.
• 6:07
  Yes, today is the last day to
• 6:09
  enroll in an Affordable Care Act
• 6:11
  plan via healthcare.gov.
• 6:13
  If you want that coverage to begin
• 6:15
  on January 1st, you can still
• 6:16
  technically go in and enroll through
• 6:18
  January 15th, but if you wait, you
• 6:20
  might have a gap in your coverage.
• 6:21
  And especially if you were enrolled
• 6:23
  in one of those plans this year,
• 6:25
  today's the day to go check the
• 6:26
  portal to avoid being re-enrolled
• 6:28
  automatically because your plan
• 6:30
  may be more expensive this year.
• 6:32
  There have been some significant
• 6:33
  premium increases, so it's smart to
• 6:35
  give that a check.
• 6:36
  There's still some congressional
• 6:37
  potential action on what those
• 6:39
  subsidies may or may not be, kind of
• 6:41
  waiting to hear what's happening
• 6:42
  there. I know you're watching this
• 6:44
  and a lot more.
• 6:45
  KUT's health reporter, Olivia
• 6:46
  Aldridge. Thanks, Olivia.
• 6:48
  Thank you.
• 6:58
  As the capital of Texas,
• 7:00
  Austin's influence has helped shape
• 7:01
  the world beyond its city limits.
• 7:04
  The Austin History Center has been
• 7:06
  the steward of the city story,
• 7:08
  and after years of renovation work,
• 7:10
  officially reopened last week.
• 7:12
  For more, we're talking with
• 7:14
  Executive Director for the Austin
• 7:15
  History Centers Association,
• 7:17
  Adam Powell.
• 7:18
  Adam, thanks so much for talking
• 7:20
  with us on Austin Signal.
• 7:21
  Oh, thank you so much for having me.
• 7:23
  So Adam, first of all, just briefly,
• 7:25
  in case there are people who don't
• 7:26
  know, tell us about the Austin
• 7:28
  History Center.
• 7:29
  What is it and what does it do?
• 7:31
  I'm so glad you asked, you know,
• 7:33
  so the Austin History Center
• 7:34
  Association we're
• 7:36
  the nonprofit that supports the
• 7:38
  Austin history center meaning that
• 7:40
  a lot of the work we do
• 7:42
  is advocacy and for lack of
• 7:43
  a better term, just cheerleading and
• 7:45
  being spokespeople and helping
• 7:47
  get the word out about the Austin
• 7:49
  Histories Center.
• 7:50
  And so the awesome history center is
• 7:52
  truly our city's municipal archives.
• 7:54
  It's part of the city of Austin,
• 7:56
  it's part the public library system
• 7:58
  and it is home to literally
• 8:00
  millions of documents
• 8:02
  and audio recordings,
• 8:04
  video recordings, artifacts,
• 8:07
  maps, architectural archives,
• 8:09
  really, you name it.
• 8:10
  It is the place
• 8:12
  to find documentation about Austin's
• 8:14
  history and what we're happy to
• 8:15
  support.
• 8:16
  So you're saying millions of
• 8:17
  documents, I'm picturing like stacks
• 8:19
  and stacks of boxes of documents.
• 8:21
  Is that really what's in there?
• 8:22
  What's in there?
• 8:22
  You are picturing correctly.
• 8:25
  And it's really relevant to this
• 8:26
  occasion right now.
• 8:28
  The newly renovated space
• 8:30
  that the Austin History Center is in
• 8:32
  is really a generational
• 8:34
  improvement because there's so much
• 8:35
  space that's needed.
• 8:36
  And we know archives don't get
• 8:38
  smaller. They only get bigger.
• 8:40
  Well, and so you mentioned the
• 8:41
  history center is part of the
• 8:42
  awesome public library system.
• 8:44
  Talk about the site of the
• 8:46
  center, where it is and what's
• 8:48
  special about that particular
• 8:49
  building.
• 8:50
  Oh, you've done your research.
• 8:52
  Hey, when I was in high school here,
• 8:54
  I got sent there a lot to do
• 8:55
  research papers at what used to be
• 8:57
  the central library.
• 8:58
  So yeah, tell us about that
• 8:59
  building.
• 8:59
  That's what I love to hear.
• 9:00
  That's why I love it here.
• 9:02
  So really we're nowadays
• 9:04
  referring to as a two building
• 9:05
  campus.
• 9:06
  And both of these buildings are
• 9:08
  critically important to the history
• 9:09
  of our city and really the history
• 9:11
  the library system.
• 9:12
  So the Austin History Center was
• 9:14
  first established in the early 1980s
• 9:17
  in what was Austin's first permanent
• 9:19
  public library.
• 9:20
  So if you've been downtown off
• 9:22
  9th and Guad next to the Moon Tower,
• 9:24
  next to Woldridge Square Park and
• 9:26
  the old Travis County courthouse,
• 9:28
  You've seen before this beautiful
• 9:30
  building that was constructed in
• 9:33
  1933 and it was Austin's
• 9:34
  actual first permanent central
• 9:36
  library.
• 9:37
  It remained that way until 1979
• 9:40
  when obviously nowadays
• 9:42
  the John Henry Falk Library opened
• 9:44
  but at the time it was just the new
• 9:46
  Austin Central Library.
• 9:47
  And that's actually what formed our
• 9:49
  association because the mayor and
• 9:51
  city council at the time were
• 9:53
  considering the idea of tearing
• 9:55
  down the original building.
• 9:57
  And there was a small group of
• 9:59
  Ausnites who came together and said,
• 10:00
  hey, we're not okay with that.
• 10:02
  We wanna preserve this building, the
• 10:04
  history within it, and ultimately
• 10:05
  establishes our city's archives,
• 10:07
  which is what they did.
• 10:09
  And 46 years later, our association
• 10:10
  is still doing the same work
• 10:12
  advocating for the history center.
• 10:13
  So it sounds like that this
• 10:16
  renovation work took about
• 10:17
  eight years, cost about $14.5
• 10:20
  million.
• 10:21
  What was done to the facility?
• 10:23
  Oh yeah, so the John Henry Falk
• 10:25
  Library building,
• 10:27
  the way I like to tell folks for
• 10:29
  people like yourself who maybe grew
• 10:31
  up going to the central library
• 10:32
  there, it looks familiar,
• 10:35
  but definitely modernized.
• 10:38
  And thankfully the building itself
• 10:40
  was set up really
• 10:41
  well to house something like an
• 10:43
  archive. It was very innovative for
• 10:45
  its time and open floor plans.
• 10:47
  Libraries have large stacks and
• 10:49
  all sorts of things there
• 10:51
  to hold the books.
• 10:52
  Archives. It's the same situation
• 10:54
  with the shelves and the stacks and
• 10:55
  the units.
• 10:56
  So when you go in, you'll see less
• 10:57
  carpet, you
• 11:00
  won't see it.
• 11:01
  You'll feel updated HVAC
• 11:04
  and heating and plumbing
• 11:06
  and modern bathrooms.
• 11:09
  But really, the sole and the core
• 11:10
  of the building has been maintained
• 11:12
  while making it a frankly
• 11:14
  world-class facility for an archive.
• 11:16
  And how was the renovation funded?
• 11:19
  Primarily, almost entirely through
• 11:21
  bond monies, mostly 14
• 11:23
  and a half million from a 2018 bond.
• 11:25
  So Adam, what can the Austin History
• 11:27
  Center do and provide now
• 11:30
  that it couldn't do and provide
• 11:32
  prior to the renovation?
• 11:34
  That is a really great question.
• 11:37
  So first and foremost, what I tell
• 11:39
  folks again, is archives don't get
• 11:41
  smaller, right?
• 11:42
  They just continue to expand.
• 11:45
  And in the 1933
• 11:47
  Austin Library Building
• 11:49
  that the Austin History Center was
• 11:51
  in, there just wasn't room.
• 11:53
  I mean, you would go into the
• 11:54
  basement or the second floor or
• 11:56
  anywhere in that building, floor to
• 11:58
  ceiling, boxes, archives,
• 12:00
  artifacts, just having to be where
• 12:01
  they could fit. And so.
• 12:04
  It was at a point where there was
• 12:05
  actually a moratorium on
• 12:07
  collecting new collections into
• 12:09
  the archives.
• 12:10
  And that is a kind of existential
• 12:12
  problem for preserving our city's
• 12:14
  history. So first and foremost,
• 12:16
  what it does is just ensure
• 12:18
  that for the next really 50
• 12:20
  years, the archives are in a
• 12:22
  position to continue to grow, to
• 12:24
  continue, to thrive and collect
• 12:26
  everything they need to from the
• 12:27
  community.
• 12:28
  The other thing that it does, is it
• 12:30
  increases the accessibility to
• 12:31
  Austin's history, So the first
• 12:33
  floor is now entirely
• 12:35
  dedicated to exhibit space.
• 12:38
  And that is so
• 12:39
  different from the old Austin
• 12:41
  History Center where they put
• 12:42
  exhibits where they can, but the
• 12:44
  staff was really limited.
• 12:46
  And now the first-floor, if you
• 12:48
  walk in today, you see a deep
• 12:50
  dive on the archival process
• 12:51
  with these wonderful artifacts from
• 12:53
  Austin History.
• 12:54
  And it's something that, as long as
• 12:56
  the History Center's open, you can
• 12:57
  come off the street and just check
• 12:58
  it out.
• 12:59
  So you've said archives don't get
• 13:01
  smaller, they get bigger.
• 13:02
  But I always think of things going
• 13:03
  forward as everything's digital.
• 13:05
  Like scans of photos, scans of
• 13:06
  things. So how are archives getting
• 13:08
  bigger if it seems like our
• 13:10
  main storage vehicle these days
• 13:12
  is digital?
• 13:14
  See, this is a
• 13:16
  common misconception about archives,
• 13:17
  I would say.
• 13:18
  So absolutely, yes, there's so much
• 13:20
  digitization that happens, and then
• 13:22
  maybe even more than that, what's
• 13:24
  called digitally native documents.
• 13:26
  So for example, the Austin History
• 13:28
  Center maintains every board and
• 13:30
  commission meeting in the city of
• 13:31
  Austin, point blank, all
• 13:33
  of them. And all of those
• 13:35
  meetings nowadays, the videos
• 13:37
  or the Zoom recordings or what have
• 13:39
  you, they never exist as
• 13:41
  physical documents.
• 13:42
  So part of that...
• 13:43
  Is then the data storage
• 13:45
  needs and the infrastructure
• 13:47
  around that needs to expand,
• 13:49
  which does have its physical
• 13:51
  implications.
• 13:52
  The other thing is, as the
• 13:54
  city's municipal archive, there are
• 13:56
  document retention policies within
• 13:57
  the city.
• 13:58
  So there are so many physical
• 14:00
  documents that are legally
• 14:02
  required to be maintained in
• 14:04
  physical form, maybe for three
• 14:06
  years, five years, maybe forever.
• 14:08
  So, you know, as a municipal
• 14:10
  archive as the cities archive, Those
• 14:12
  documents aren't going anywhere.
• 14:13
  They gotta be at the History Center
• 14:15
  and the the fantastic staff
• 14:17
  of archivists and collections
• 14:18
  managers are prepared
• 14:20
  for that now to expand in the new
• 14:22
  facility.
• 14:22
  So, and I'm finally just sort of
• 14:24
  stepping back from the renovation
• 14:25
  and the physical space and all the
• 14:27
  work that happened in the reopening.
• 14:29
  Why is it important for a city
• 14:30
  to have a history center?
• 14:33
  It is, I would say,
• 14:35
  one of the most essential,
• 14:37
  critical services that
• 14:40
  the city of Austin provides.
• 14:41
  Because there are very,
• 14:44
  very, very few things that
• 14:46
  you can build towards that will
• 14:47
  outlive you.
• 14:48
  There are very very few things
• 14:50
  that, you know, will be useful
• 14:52
  in perpetuity.
• 14:53
  And the work that the Austin History
• 14:55
  Center staff does to preserve
• 14:57
  the documents and artifacts
• 15:00
  and video and audio
• 15:01
  recordings that make up Austin's.
• 15:03
  History, make up Austin's
• 15:05
  story, is work that's going to
• 15:07
  matter in 100 years, in
• 15:09
  200 years, and 300 years long
• 15:11
  after we're gone.
• 15:12
  And so the new facility,
• 15:14
  yes, the exhibits, yes the expanded
• 15:16
  collections capacity, that's
• 15:18
  all wonderful.
• 15:19
  But the work is
• 15:21
  something that will outlive every
• 15:23
  single person listening to this
• 15:24
  right now. And to me, that is
• 15:26
  the the core of why our association
• 15:28
  is proud to do the work that we're
• 15:30
  doing.
• 15:31
  We've been speaking with Adam
• 15:32
  Powell, executive director of the
• 15:34
  Austin History Center Association.
• 15:36
  Adam, thanks so much for coming in
• 15:37
  and talking with us on Austin Signal
• 15:39
  today.
• 15:40
  Thank you so much for having me.
• 15:46
  And coming up, a special
• 15:48
  excerpt from the KUT podcast,
• 15:51
  Black Austin Matters.
• 15:52
  We've got more Austin Signal right
• 15:54
  after this.
• 15:56
  Stay with us.
• 15:58
  This is Austin Signal.
• 16:00
  I'm Jennifer Stayton.
• 16:02
  Lisa B. Thompson and Richard
• 16:04
  J. Reddick host the KUT KUTX
• 16:07
  Studios Black Austin matters
• 16:09
  podcast that highlights the
• 16:11
  black community and black culture
• 16:12
  in central Texas.
• 16:14
  In this excerpt, Lisa and Richard
• 16:16
  talk with a lead pastor at
• 16:18
  Greater Mount Zion Baptist Church,
• 16:20
  Galen Clark.
• 16:21
  We join them as Lisa B.
• 16:22
  Thompson asks, why are there so
• 16:24
  many denominations of
• 16:26
  Christianity?
• 16:28
  I'm trying to get you to help me
• 16:30
  understand.
• 16:31
  We need a diagram.
• 16:32
  You help me to understand.
• 16:34
  Go ahead, go ahead, help me.
• 16:36
  I'm kidding. Sir, I have no, I,
• 16:38
  but, yeah. The tables have been
• 16:39
  turned.
• 16:40
  Jokes, jokes.
• 16:41
  First and foremost, most
• 16:42
  denominations are attempts to
• 16:45
  reach different cultures or
• 16:46
  subcultures of
• 16:48
  a
• 16:50
  group of people.
• 16:51
  That's all it really is.
• 16:53
  A lot of times we make a bigger deal
• 16:55
  out of denominations, in my opinion.
• 16:57
  Than is warranted.
• 17:00
  For instance, a good example,
• 17:02
  you were just talking about
• 17:04
  people who graduate
• 17:07
  and having graduations
• 17:09
  for various communities
• 17:11
  at the University of Texas.
• 17:13
  Well, why are those graduations
• 17:15
  important? Why can't everybody just
• 17:18
  go to the big graduation and be
• 17:20
  satisfied with that?
• 17:21
  Well, they do that because
• 17:22
  there's something empowering
• 17:25
  about
• 17:27
  being able to celebrate the way
• 17:28
  you celebrate in your
• 17:31
  culture.
• 17:33
  Okay, this is all the denominations
• 17:35
  really are primarily.
• 17:37
  Now there are some differences and I
• 17:39
  can talk to you about that, but
• 17:41
  primarily Episcopalians,
• 17:44
  they tend to be more liturgical
• 17:46
  than Baptists.
• 17:48
  That's all. Yes.
• 17:50
  I mean, Catholics
• 17:52
  are definitely more
• 17:54
  liturgical than Episcopalians
• 17:57
  even, although one
• 17:59
  is a more Protestant end of that
• 18:00
  spectrum. That's right.
• 18:02
  You know, and in Baptist churches,
• 18:04
  we like to be loud.
• 18:06
  A little bit. You know?
• 18:08
  Presbyterians, they don't like all
• 18:09
  that noise.
• 18:10
  They don't all like all of that
• 18:11
  noise, no.
• 18:12
  Now, here's the deal,
• 18:14
  here is the deal.
• 18:15
  What is wrong with
• 18:17
  somebody
• 18:20
  not being as loud as other people.
• 18:22
  Right. Tell me what's wrong with
• 18:24
  that. I love that.
• 18:25
  Absolutely nothing.
• 18:26
  Let them be quiet.
• 18:27
  Here's the problem.
• 18:28
  The problem becomes is that
• 18:30
  my humanness and pride tells
• 18:32
  me.
• 18:36
  The people who are not loud like me,
• 18:37
  they don't really know Jesus the
• 18:39
  way I do.
• 18:41
  And then the people who who are
• 18:43
  quiet and they're
• 18:45
  more button up
• 18:47
  doing service, they
• 18:49
  feel like all that stuff that those
• 18:50
  Baptists do down there, that's just
• 18:52
  a bunch of foolishness.
• 18:53
  Like it's anti-intellectual, you
• 18:55
  know?
• 18:57
  And the truth is,
• 19:01
  God is not up there saying.
• 19:05
  I really like the method is better.
• 19:10
  Jesus doesn't care about all of
• 19:11
  that.
• 19:12
  He cares about followers.
• 19:14
  You know, he came to do something
• 19:16
  so much bigger than try
• 19:18
  to figure out like
• 19:20
  what specific
• 19:24
  segment of Christianity you're
• 19:26
  gonna be a part of.
• 19:27
  In fact,
• 19:29
  what's interesting is that
• 19:31
  Jesus felt not only called
• 19:33
  to his own people, but
• 19:36
  he calls his people to go to.
• 19:38
  Spaces where his own people
• 19:40
  are not.
• 19:41
  The only reason why Christianity has
• 19:43
  survived is because
• 19:45
  Jesus called
• 19:48
  us to go to the
• 19:50
  nations. And the nations, those are
• 19:52
  not political, territorial,
• 19:54
  governmental groups,
• 20:01
  nations. No, that word
• 20:03
  nations has to do with people
• 20:05
  groups.
• 20:07
  Cultures.
• 20:10
  Spaces where like people
• 20:12
  do
• 20:15
  life in a certain way,
• 20:17
  right?
• 20:18
  And so they went to
• 20:20
  varied cultures.
• 20:21
  So God honors culture.
• 20:23
  He honors difference.
• 20:25
  He honors uniqueness.
• 20:27
  And for us to,
• 20:29
  you know, divide
• 20:31
  His people
• 20:33
  who are beloved by Him into
• 20:35
  all these quadrants.
• 20:38
  And being some,
• 20:40
  not all, and I think we're much
• 20:42
  better at this as a church,
• 20:45
  as the Bixy Church,
• 20:48
  at making sure that
• 20:50
  we don't do that.
• 20:51
  But it's disheartening.
• 20:54
  But you know, the reality about all
• 20:55
  of that is, is that
• 20:58
  it actually, to me,
• 21:00
  is kind of a beautiful thing.
• 21:03
  Because, think about it.
• 21:06
  God says your difference
• 21:07
  is okay.
• 21:11
  I don't want you to be, you don't
• 21:12
  have to be like that
• 21:16
  group.
• 21:17
  You have to love that group, but you
• 21:19
  don't have to, your uniqueness is
• 21:21
  beautiful.
• 21:22
  Unity is not uniformity and
• 21:24
  this is a good thing.
• 21:28
  You know, we used to sing this song,
• 21:30
  you'll appreciate this because
• 21:32
  you're a church baby.
• 21:33
  Oh, no.
• 21:34
  Red, yellow, black, and white.
• 21:36
  They're all precious.
• 21:37
  In his sight.
• 21:40
  And they still are.
• 21:43
  That was Lisa B.
• 21:44
  Thompson and Richard J.
• 21:46
  Reddick, hosts of Black Austin
• 21:47
  Matters, talking with lead pastor
• 21:49
  at Greater Mount Zion Baptist
• 21:51
  Church, Galen Clark.
• 21:52
  You can find out more about Black
• 21:54
  Austin Matters at kut.org,
• 21:57
  and we'll have a link to their
• 21:57
  podcast in today's podcast,
• 22:00
  Show Notes.
• 22:02
  And thanks to KUT's Olivia Aldridge
• 22:04
  and Miles Bloxson for their help
• 22:06
  with today's episode.
• 22:08
  Rayna Sevilla is our technical
• 22:10
  director.
• 22:11
  Kristin Cabrera is our managing
• 22:12
  producer.
• 22:13
  Thanks to her for herding the
• 22:15
  cats. We've got more about the show
• 22:17
  in our podcast, shownotes
• 22:19
  at kut.org slash
• 22:22
  signal.
• 22:22
  Let us know what you think about the
• 22:24
  shows. Send us an email to
• 22:26
  austinsignal at k-u-t
• 22:28
  dot org.
• 22:30
  I'm Jennifer Stayton, happy to be
• 22:31
  sitting in today for Jerry Quijano.
• 22:34
  Austin Signal is back tomorrow.
• 22:35
  And we'll be here all during the
• 22:37
  holidays with some special shows
• 22:39
  too.
• 22:40
  Be sure to check those out and
• 22:42
  have a great day.