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ames Rae and Debi Duren will tell you
Hank Stack was irreplaceable.
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Two deaf queer interpreters fill the seat
of morning news mainstay Hank Stack
The longtime supporter and member
'
of the deaf and gay communities was also
by lim i Stevenson
a well-known personality in Oregon
through his 30-plus years as a sign language
interpreter for KGW-TV. He died July 31.
Now, it is up to Rae and Duren to carry on his
work as the Portlanders take over signing duties
at KGW, waking up each morning and bringing
the news to members of the region’s deaf com
munity. Both have a great deal in common with
Stack: They have been deaf their entire lives, are
members of the queer community, have been
signing for years and are activists of sorts. And
both truly admired and respected Stack and
have pleasant memories of him.
“Hank was an incredible man,” Rae says.
“W hen I first moved to Portland, Hank made
me feel very welcome. He always made an effort
to make sure I was invited to functions or had
been introduced to people.”
Duren adds: “It was a huge loss with Hank
gone, and there’s no way I could replace him as he
was very well liked and well known by the deaf
community and KGW community as well. How
ever, 1 feel very honored to be able to carry the
‘torch’ in his name and continue with this impor
tant piece for the sake of the deaf community.”
Duren recalls Stack’s adventure stories and
his laughs. “He was very generous with love and
care,” she says.
James Rae and Debi Duren are carrying
Rae and Duren are excited about the door
on the leiiacv of Hank Stack (below)
tation. He attributes that partially
that has opened for them. They admit to a touch
of “nervousness” but are enjoying being sign to the fact deaf people have shown
“they are watching and value the segments that
Rae, who has been deaf
interpreters for K G W
are interpreted.”
since infancy as a result of
Duren is not totally new to the job, either.
meningitis, was bom and
She had served as a substitute for Stack during
Rae says his mornings at KG W tend to be
raised in New York. He
challenging. “Upon arriving, we are given a
the past four years.
later attended Lexington
“I have gained more confidence in signing in
script of the segment’s information. Sometimes
School for the Deaf.
front of the cameras and in signing update news
we get them pretty close to the airing, and then
He has been signing his
I do some modification so it is easier to interpret.
in such a short time,” says Duren, who notes that
entire life but says in the
I make notes of things to pay special attention
several members of the deaf community have
1970s sign language was
to, like spelling or a number.”
told her they are glad KGW chose to continue
having interpreters on the morning news broad
not encouraged, so his par
First they work on the 8:56 a.m. segment of
ents decided to encourage
casts. “T he deaf community deserves something
the news, which is taped, then they prepare for
that meets their needs for [American Sign Lan
speaking and lip reading.
the 8:26 a.m. segment, which is live. Rae admits
guage], and I feel KGW has been kind to work
“It didn’t work,” he told
the last thing he does before going on the air is
with Hank for many years and to keep this com
look in the mirror and make sure he looks “sassy.” Just Out.
mitment going. I feel touched by the comments
Duren says she’s getting used to the hectic
Rae acknowledged to
from the deaf community and am grateful for
morning schedule. “A t first, when I started sub
himself that he was gay in
bing [for Stack], I required about a half-hour to
junior high school, “denied
KGW in attempting to keep it there.”
Rae says he is honored to fill Stack’s seat. “I
prepare and to make sure I remembered the
it to people in high school”
can do a job that I love and also have fond mem
news. But now, I do two update news segments,
and then came out in col
ories of whom I am replacing. It also has been
including preparation, in about 20 minutes.”
lege. He has long been
stressful knowing that so many people are
involved in both the deaf
Rae and Duren didn’t grow up in Portland
watching. I get nervous pretty easy, which
and queer communities,
but have become actively involved in the com
affects my interpreting. So...for all viewers,
munity since moving here.
and although he does not
please be patient with me.”
He, too, is pleased that KGW has continued
the tradition of providing sign language interpre-
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th e
consider himself an activist, he does admit he
can be “a pain.”
“Most of my activism is in regards to interpret
ing,” he says. “I have dedicated my efforts to make
sure that events are accessible to the deaf and
hard-of-hearing communities. I am pretty out
spoken, and I don’t beat around the bush when it
comes to injustice. I am willing to do whatever it
takes to educate people to influence a change.”
Duren, who was bom in Colorado profound
ly deaf, spent most of her time growing up in
Long Beach, Calif. She has been communicat
ing in A SL since she was 14-
Like Rae, Duren has long been an active
member of the deaf and queer communities. She
is vice president of Northwest Rainbow
Alliance of the Deaf, served as program co
chairwoman for the Seattle Rainbow Alliance
of the Deaf Conference in 2001, has volun
teered at community events such as Portland
Pride and has worked on fund raising for a num
ber of groups.
Although she and Rae acknowledge that
some of the challenges faced by the deaf and
queer communities are similar, they do not nec
essarily see a tight bond between the two groups.
“Right now there’s a new nonprofit organiza
tion named [Deaf & Hearing Out Reach] found
ed by two lesbian couples, both hearing and deaf,”
Duren says. “This organization’s goal is to reach
out to the queer community and bring hearing
and deaf members to bridge and communicate
together.... It’s hard because the deaf community
is hard to reach at times.”
Rae says he does not
personally feel any great
bond between deaf and
queer people. In fact, he
thinks
many hearing
members of the sexual
minorities community are
intimidated by those who
are deaf.
“Most of it is due to the
communication issue,” he
says. “I think until the
mainstream [members of
the queer community]
becomes more aware and
are willing to learn about
different needs, whether it
is signing or other subcom
munities, the bond can’t
happen.” J R
T om S tevenson is a
Portland free-lance writer
and a full-time Portland
State University student
who can he reached at
ruraltom @ yahoo.com .
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