This Chair Rocks

Pushing Back against Ageism, with Ashton Applewhite

Monday, October 17, 3:45pm – 4:45pm

Organized and moderated by Teresa Bonner, Director of Programs, Aroha Philanthropies.

Presented by Ashton Applewhite, Author.

From childhood on, we are barraged by messages that it's bad to be old. Author and activist Ashton Applewhite believed them until she realized where this prejudice comes from and the damage it does. This session will include a discussion of the implications of ageism in philanthropy and the potential for aligning philanthropic goals in the arts with a more age-friendly approach. Applewhite will explain the roots of ageism — in history and in our own age denial — and how it divides and debases. She will examine how ageist myths and stereotypes cripple the way our brains and bodies function, look at ageism in the workplace, call for age pride to replace age shame, and conclude with a call to mobilize against discrimination on the basis of age. Artist Laurie Anderson says, “As Applewhite defines and describes ageism, new ways of seeing and being in the world emerge, empowering everyone to see things as they really are.”