Gray Panthers

St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture, Jan 29, 2002 by Mary Hess

The Gray Panthers seek to redefine old age in America. Founder Maggie Kuhn emphasized that "ageism" diminishes all people by stigmatizing young and old people as less than full members of society. Their mission statement affirms the importance of their relationship: "The Gray Panthers is an intergenerational advocacy organization. We are Age and Youth in Action--activists working together for social and economic justice. Our issues include universal health care, jobs with a living wage and the right to organize, the preservation of Social Security, affordable housing, access to quality education, economic justice, environment, peace and challenging ageism, sexism and racism." The Gray Panthers work with other organizations (notably AARP--the American Association of Retired Persons) for issues of common interest (e.g. preserving Social Security), but they are distinctive in placing a primary emphasis on activism, particularly for those not normally active in the political process. Philosophically, the Gray Panthers are to the left of AARP, which is more conservative and allied with a variety of businesses and services. For over 25 years, the Gray Panthers have advocated social change, inspired by the dynamic example of founder Maggie Kuhn, who urged, "Speak your mind. When you least expect it, someone may actually listen to what you have to say. Even if your voice shakes, well-aimed slingshots can topple giants."

Maggie Kuhn (1905-1995) had been an activist for many causes during her life, but the organization that made her famous came about when she was forced to retire from the job she loved as an executive of the United Presbyterian Church at age 65. Infuriated by the wasteful nature of bureaucracies that mandated retirement for workers at 65, Kuhn began the process of organizing an advocacy group for older Americans. She recalled the awakening of her consciousness in her autobiography, No Stone Unturned: "Something clicked in my mind and I saw that my problem was not mine alone. I came to feel a great kinship with my peers and to believe that something was fundamentally wrong with a system that had no use for us." She believed that the talents, energy, and wisom of older Americans were being wasted.

With five friends, Kuhn began to hold meetings to try to address the problem, and it quickly grew from six to a hundred members in a year. The original name of the group was the Consultation of Older Persons, which was changed to the Gray Panthers when a member of the media suggested it to Maggie Kuhn as a better fit for her activist organization. This caused some confusion for people who were intimidated by the name, which recalled the Black Panthers, a militant activist organization of the Civil Rights movement. One woman wrote to Kuhn that she wanted to join but didn't want to be part of any "bombings." The new organization was helped significantly by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, who incorporated his own seniors group (Retired Professional Action Group) into the Gray Panthers. His organization had investigated the hearing aid industry, and he published an exposé, "Paying through the Ear." Nader also contributed $25,000 to the Gray Panthers, which helped significantly as they began their next campaign for nursing home reform. Their efforts (in conjunction with the National Citizen Coalition for Nursing Home Reform) produced a handbook, "Nursing Homes: A Citizen Action Guide," which documented nursing home abuses. By 1974, the Gray Panthers were making their influence felt across the country.

Annoyed by television talk-show host Johnny Carson's character "Aunt Blabby," Kuhn turned her guest spot on the show in 1974 into a tour de force, charming Carson and not incidentally promoting the Gray Panthers. In 1975 the Gray Panthers established a National Media Task Force, which documented ageist stereotyping in broadcasting, which led the National Association of Broadcasters to amend the Television Code of Ethics to include "age along with race and sex." In 1978, the Gray Panthers won perhaps their most satisfying reward for their efforts: the Age Discrimination in Employment Act was passed, raising the mandatory retirement age from 65 to 70. The 1980s were a very successful decade for the organization; the Reagan era provided a spur to activist groups and the Panthers reached an all-time high of 80,000 members. While the Gray Panthers have a much lower profile than the AARP, Maggie Kuhn had a keen sense of what the press would pick up on and always provided them with good copy. She once said, "Old age is an excellent time for outrage. My goal is to say or do at least one outrageous thing every week." In that same spirit, membership materials affirm that "the Gray Panthers movement is in the trenches fighting for the values in which we believe--taking the far out positions which lead to real change."

The Gray Panthers have a strong bond with organized labor and walked the picket line in the successful 1997 United Parcel Services strike. The organization has requested all members who are also union retirees to identify themselves as such so that the Gray Panthers can continue to solidify the close relationship with the AFL-CIO and other unions in their quest for social and economic justice. Many members of the Panthers are lifetime activists, participating in union and progressive politics at a level of commitment that makes them extremely skillful as organizers. Networking is crucial to the success of the Gray Panthers: rather than employ the high-power lobbying techniques of AARP to influence members of Congress, the organization uses its modest resources to work directly with other progressive organizations such as Food First (The Institute for Food and Development Policy).