Mad Pride Month 2019

Mad Pride and Mental Health Month

May 2019

The Student Disability Commission and D Center present the first Mad Pride month in UW History. Today, we reclaim our dignity. We reclaim our identities. We reclaim those words which have been used to harm us: Psycho. Crazy. Mad. Mentally Ill.

History of Mad Pride

“Mad Pride emerged out of many historical movements for self-determination and dignity, including Black Liberation, Women’s Liberation, “Mad liberation”, anti-psychiatry, ex-psychiatric patient, self-reliance, anti-poverty, consumer survivor, service user and other movements.

The first Toronto Pride event for mad people was held in the fall of 1993. It was called Psychiatric Survivor Pride Day. The founds of this day have gone onto create non-profits, artistic spaces, and become activists for many causes in addition to Mad rights.

The name changed to Mad Pride in 2002 and events are now held in the summer to correspond with Bastille Day (during the French Revolution, citizens stormed the Bastille to liberate prisoners and mad people) and International Mad Pride Day on July 14.

Mad Pride is celebrated annually in a number of cities and countries.”

http://www.torontomadpride.com/history/

Volunteer Today!

Looking for students who identify as mad/mentally ill, neurodivergent, or as students with mental illness. We will be doing this as part of a Humans of New York (HONY)-inspired media campaign. We will be working with members of the community to feature, whether anonymously or otherwise, stories of institutional oppression and disableism, felt at the University of Washington or the Greater Seattle Community.

If you would like to be featured, please fill out this form.

For other Mad Pride volunteer opportunities, please contact:

Ashley Cowan D’Ambrosio
she/her
Student Disability Commission Director, 2018-2019

Husky Union Building 131Q
Phone: 206.616.0948
Email: asuwswdc@uw.edu