Simplify the following text for a Grade 13 native English-speaking person.
Original: The whisper-thin , elegant Castles were trendsetters in many ways : they traveled with a black orchestra , had an openly lesbian manager , and were animal-rights advocates decades before it became a public issue .
Simplified: The slim , elegant Castles were trendsetters in many ways : they traveled with a black orchestra , had an openly lesbian manager , and were animal rights advocates long before it became a public issue .