senior-spectrum.com

By Daniel Dullum
Spectrum staff writer

Maggie Kuhn didn't take kindly to the notion of involuntary retirement when she was faced with that situation in 1970. Her response to giving up her 20-year career in the Social Education and Action office of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. was to roar back -- literally.

Kuhn, who died in 1995, explained how her second career as a social activist came about in one of the archival interviews featured in "Maggie Growls," the premiere episode of "Independent Lens," a new PBS documentary series which airs locally at 11 p.m., Feb. 13, on KVIE-TV (Channel 7).

"The Gray Panthers began in the spring of 1970, when I found myself in the same predicament as five of my friends. We were sad, and in a sense mourning for what we used to do. We loved the jobs we did and the idea of retirement distressed us," Kuhn recalled. "The first thing we wondered, 'What do we do with the rest of our lives?'"

Archival public service footage provides a mock answer, as a 1950s newsreel narrator extolled activities like shuffleboard to "help the old folks pass the day by."

Kuhn, an activist long before it was fashionable, would have none of that. When the Presbyterian Church, with all good intentions, gave her a sewing machine as a retirement gift, Kuhn rejected it in favor of a mimeograph copier.

"When she was forced to retire at age 65, she felt she was just getting started," said Ralph Nader, consumer advocate and a long-time friend of Kuhn's. "I thought that was one of the most significant retirements in modern American history."

"Old age is an excellent time for outrage. My goal is to say or do at least one outrageous thing every week," Kuhn said.

Philadelphia filmmakers Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater use new and vintage interviews, narration by actress Angela Bassett and special animation by Paul and Sandra Fierlinger to tell the story of Kuhn -- who died at age 90 -- and her role in the repeal of mandatory retirement laws and her ongoing battle against ageism in general.

"I never did meet her, but I would have loved to have known her," said Joan Lee, chair of the Gray Panthers of Sacramento. "Maggie's influence keeps us going. She was a real hero.

"As we know now, she was on the cutting edge with how things are happening with the aging boom," Lee continued. "Her role in highlighting seniors returning to the workplace so long ago is a hallmark."

So, too, was Kuhn's legendary "Gray Panther Growl."

"Maggie had read somewhere, I think it was in Buddhist meditation, that if you want to meditate really good, you're supposed to stick your tongue out. That's supposed to help you focus," John Steinbach of the Michigan Gray Panthers said in the documentary. "So she came up with the idea of the 'Gray Panther Growl.'"

The growl was introduced to the public when Nader asked Kuhn to appear at a protest in Detroit, where General Motors was planning to raze numerous homes occupied by seniors to make room for a new Cadillac plant.

"She put her hands on the podium and let out a blood-curdling Gray Panther scream to establish the proper atmosphere of defiance," Nader remembered.

The next day, the image of Kuhn screaming with her tongue out was on the front page of the Detroit Free Press. And both an image and movement were born.

Yet, as Kuhn once said, "My birth [in Buffalo, N.Y., 1905] was my first political act," noting that her mother insisted on not having her born in Memphis, Tenn., because of her dislike of the segregated South.

While "Maggie Growls" offers an overview of her entire life, including insights to her upbringing, the documentary focuses primarily on her Gray Panthers career.
Archival footage shows Kuhn taking Johnny Carson to task for his "Aunt Blabby" character in a 1975 appearance on "The Tonight Show," and her battle to address senators and congressmen on Capitol Hill. It also shows a softer side as she speaks fondly of love affairs and close relationships.

As an activist, Kuhn didn't limit herself to senior causes. Her early post-retirement battles included protesting the Vietnam war.

"She thought there was a natural connection between the younger people and old people. So they reached out to some college students and they would get out and protest very loudly," Lee said. "That's when the media dubbed this group 'The Gray Panthers.' They reminded media of the vocal protestations of the Black Panthers.

"She hated waste and bureaucracy and she hated fraud. She really pushed for the legislative debates on those social justice issues," Lee continued. "It's sad to say, but a number of the same issues she cared about are things that we are fighting for right now."

Lee believes that while people may feel disenfranchised when looking at what's going on in California and the world, they can take a cue from activists like Kuhn and sees "Maggie Growls" as a positive step in that direction.

"[Kuhn] wasn't put off by being a voice in the wilderness. They went right ahead and said what was on their mind. They pulled people up, gave us causes, and really made a difference in our society," Lee said. "We can take pride and a sense of empowerment as we watch something on television that champions those people. I know Gray Panthers feel that way."

For information on the Gray Panthers of Sacramento, call (916) 739-1540.