Cape Karen
Just when many people prepare for their quiet years, Maggie Kuhn embarked on the greatest adventure and most important work of her life. In 1970, at age 65, she was forced to retire from her long career with the Presbyterian Church. Kuhn, and a group of her friends in similar circumstances, put their heads, hearts and hands together and founded an organization which became the Gray Panthers.
Kuhn fought off the negative and demeaning attitudes of everyone, from politicians to the managers of nursing homes, who were treating the elderly like 'amusing children,' instead of insisting that they be allowed to sit at the table and have a voice in the important decision-making that would affect their lives.
By 1973, eleven chapters of the Gray Panthers had opened. They received a great deal of public attention, and continued to grow as a well-respected and powerful organization. In 1975, they held their first national convention in Chicago, and in 1990 they opened their public policy office in Washington, D.C.
In an interview, Kuhn described the mission of the Gray Panthers saying, “In the tradition of the women’s liberation movement, the common mission of all the Gray Panther groups is consciousness-raising. Instead of discovering sexism, we discovered ‘ageism’—the segregation, stereotyping, and stigmatizing of people on the basis of their age.”
The core of the Gray Panthers' message is that older people need to seize control of their lives and become more active in the world - working for issues in which they believe. Kuhn's candor, charisma and lively approach, to the needs and problems of the elderly, always drew major media attention. Today, thanks to her group activistism, the Grey Panther organization has come to represent the potential, power and on-going importance of our wise elders. Kuhn's advice to others interested in creating social change shows the strength of her convictions, and her words ring true even today: "Leave safety behind. Do your homework. Put your body on the line. Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind ~ even if your voice shakes. When you least expect it someone may actually listen to what you have to say. Well-aimed slingshots can topple giants."
Kuhn, who continued to play a role in the Gray Panthers until her death in 1995, is considered by many to have started nothing less than a contemporary cultural revolution. She not only redefined the meaning of age but, through her insistence on "young and old together," she helped change the subtle, and not-so-subtle, negative attitudes towards the elderly. She and the Panthers were directly instrumental in enacting significant national reforms ~ including nursing home reform, ending forced retirement provisions, and combatting fraud and abuse against the elderly.
Before her death she wrote an autobiography entitled, "The Life and Times of Maggie Kuhn." She had never married and was able to use her energy, intellect and unflagging spirit by helping to make significant changes for the welfare of the elderly. Speaking about never being married she said, “Many people ask why I never married. My glib response is always, "Sheer luck!" When I look back on my life I see so many things I could not have accomplished if I had been tied to a husband and children."
Just one ' wrinkled, gray-haired old woman' helped to change the face of society. She was a committed, hard-working woman who began an organization that continues her tradition of fighting for a better life for all. Her advice for those who want to make a change in the world: “Go to the people at the top ~ that is my advice to anyone who wants to change the system - any system. Don’t moan and groan with like-minded souls. Don’t write letters or place a few phone calls and then sit back and wait. Get out there and speak your mind."
I hear you, Maggie - I hear you ~ and I celebrate your life!