A RADICAL AGEISM MOVEMENT IS AFOOT
Ageism
is the last frontier of discrimination. It’s more than a number; it’s real.
Furthermore, it’s a socially constructed idea. These views were put forth by author and activist Ashton Applewhite, recently featured at a book event put on by STL Village, The Harvey A. Friedman Center for the Aging and The Novel Neighbor, a St. Louis bookstore.
The event took
place at Washington University Medical School -- 7 PM, March 27 at the Connors Auditorium in Farrell Learning Center. Applewhite is the author of This Chair Rocks:
A Manifesto Against Ageism.
In
introducing her, Madeline Franklin, executive director, STL Village, a non-profit organization for older adults to age in community, said:
“The anti-aging
movement is going strong, incorporating a new generation of ideas.”
Applewhite has been featured in such news outlets as the New York Times, the New Yorker and NPR (National Public Radio). She’s also written for a number of publications including Harper’s and the Guardian. She confided that the catalyst for writing the book was “being afraid of getting old” and her views “had been so negative.” Now, she’s found her cultural voice and launched a movement into orbit.
A personable and persuasive speaker, she pointedly told the audience of about 100 mostly older adults that “Everyone in this room will become old,” adding pg.
116
