One of many MindFreedom Ghana street marches in Accra. The sign in the middle opposes involuntary psychiatric procedures.
You’ve heard of gay pride… black pride… Here’s a pride that 100 percent of humanity can unite about: Mad Pride! All of us are different, no one has a grip on reality, and we’re all on the edge. So celebrate! Here are a few of the successful Mad Pride events that were registered with MindFreedom International.
The concept of Mad Pride is to acknowledge each person’s differences and the fact that “all of us are different; no one has a grip on reality, and we’re all on the edge. So, celebrate!” The date, May 14th, that the annual Mad Pride Campaign is held on, is significant. May 14th coincides with Bastille Day, which marks the beginning of the French Revolution and the freeing of psychiatric inmates from the Bastille.
To hear about Mad Pride 2012 events, click here.
https://mindfreedom.org/campaign/madpride
Some Previous Mad Pride Events
- Vancouver Mad Art Gallery (2012)
- Included a psychiatric survivor artwork gallery and an open mic for poets, visionaries, and musicians
- Oregon Country Fair (2012)
- Featured a psychiatric survivor and MFI sponsor named Patch Adams
- Adams founded the Gesundheit Institute, has supported MFI since 1992, and is a physician
- Ireland Mad Pride Family Fun Day Ballydehob (2012)
- Celebration of over 1,500 people
- Memorial service and balloon release in memory of John McCarthy, founder of Mad Pride Ireland
- Mad Pride in New Mexico (2010)
- Included a spoken word event featuring the voices of psychiatric survivors and their allies
- ECO Madness in Vancouver, BC (2010); a month-long event (termed “biennial”) occurring every two years during July
- World Mad Pride Biennale 2010
“ECO Madness!!! Or, Humans Are Killing the Planet and I Feel Fine”
July 2-31, 2010
@ Gallery Gachet
Vancouver, BC
- Various art, film, theater, music and educational events on the topic of ecopsychology
Mad Pride Past Events Sampler
MindFreedom has folders of a few Mad Pride events we’ve heard about, by year.
THIS IS NOT A COMPREHENSIVE LIST, just a sampling of events to inspire you!
To browse some of these events, click here: