Gray Panthers' Founding
In August of 1970, Maggie Kuhn convened a group of five friends, all of whom were retiring from national religious and social work organizations. This first "Network" of friends gathered to look at the common problems faced by retirees � loss of income, loss of contact with associates and loss of one of our society's most distinguishing social roles, one's job. They also discovered a new kind of freedom in their retirement � the freedom to speak personally and passionately about what they believed in, such as their collective opposition to the Vietnam War.

Gathering with college student opposed to the War, this new group, self-named the Consultation of Older and Younger Adults for Social Change met to discuss their common beliefs and values in Philadelphia. One year later more than 100 people joined their Consultation.

Gray Panthers' Growth
This new group began meeting and acting. Early on, a New York TV talk show producer nicknamed the group the Gray Panthers for the groups' lively, quick witted, controversial and action-oriented manner. The name stuck and was quickly adopted by the media, especially after Maggie's "unscheduled" speech in 1972. Maggie was asked to fill in at the last minute for someone unable to speak during the 181^st General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church in Denver. From that one speech, the Gray Panthers were born, with calls flooding in from around the nation to the Philadelphia based headquarters of the fledgling organization.

As their exposure increased due to media attention for activities that ranged from joining with students for peace in Vietnam, to co-sponsoring the "Black House Conference on Aging" calling attention to the lack of African-Americans at the first White House Conference on Aging, to the street theatre skit at the American Medical Association's conference in 1974 calling for "Health Care as a Human Right," the newly dubbed Gray Panthers created quite a stir and a strong following.

Gray Panthers Organize
Outgrowing their mid-Atlantic base, The Gray Panthers launched a national organization comprised of local " Networks," each of which had a leader, known as a "Convenor," relating back to the organization's founding of convening a network of one's friends and associates. Throughout the seventies and early eighties the Gray Panthers grew, as one of the few multi-issue, intergenerational organizations directly and publicly challenging the status quo from a progressive, even radical, point of view. In 1985, they opened their first public policy office in Washington, DC, and in 1990 centralized most functions there.

After Maggie's death in 1995, only one month after the tenth biennial convention honoring her legacy, the national organization struggled with its mourning and loss of its charismatic leader. However, through the dedication of the national Board of Directors and its Chair, Charlotte Flynn, the national organization survived. In 1997, the national Gray Panthers Board of Directors, responding to Members' needs, hired a new Executive Director. The national staff was re-organized and supplemented with a deputy director, director of public policy and media and the first full-time grassroots organizer. At the Eleventh Biennial Convention in September, 1997, a new Board of Directors, including a new Chair, were sworn in as the Gray Panthers prepare to head into the next years of age and youth in action.