They buy the newspapers and listen to the radio shows that have talked to them for years. The voices they trust first. They listen to the radio shows in the languages they learned as children. They watch the TV shows that remind of their different lives in the places where they come from.

They are the ethnic elderly.

And because of their role in their communities, because of their loyalty to the news media and because of the problems and gifts that they bring to their communities, their stories must be told.

Also because of their growing numbers, they can’t be ignored. 

According to the American Geriatics Society:

Currently, the senior US population is mostly white, but the fraction from other races is growing rapidly. Within the next 50 years, the number of elderly black Americans is expected to triple. The elderly Hispanic American population is growing at an even faster rate and may exceed that of the elderly black population within 30 years.

At our background briefing on Tuesday, Feb. 23rd, from 10 a.m. to noon at the offices of Age Options in Oak Park we will talk about this and other ways of doing the best job possible of reporting on the issues of the elderly.

See you there.

saludos,

Steve, steve@newstips.org, 312 369-6400