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Wrap up for "May Day for Ray" Weekend

by David W. Oaks — last modified May 03, 2009 08:41 PM

From 1 May to 3 May, MindFreedom members from four states held five actions for the campaign to end the forced electroshock of Ray Sandford. Here's a quick wrap-up.


Well, it's Sunday evening, and for the last three days a number of activists here in the Twin Cities have held a variety of events to support Ray.

A quick summary:

  • Friday, 1 May: The main event, "May Day for Ray": A peaceful protest in the Rotunda of the State Capitol of Minnesota. We held a news conference, networked with each other, had a speak out, and visited legislators. You may read about that protest here.
  • Saturday, 2 May: Strategy workshop with key local activists about Ray Campaign, and launching of MindFreedom Twin Cities Affiliate.
  • Evening, Saturday, 2 May: MindFreedom activists leafleted at the main Spring fundraiser for the local affiliate of NAMI, reaching several hundred participants about the Ray campaign.
  • Sunday morning commentary about organizing here, from main MFI blog.
  • Morning, Sunday, 3 May: MindFreedom activists visit the Central Lutheran Church of Minneapolis, MN. We talked with a mental health advocate at Central, and then went in front and behind the church to leaflet in a civil and nonviolent ways. All the congregants we talked to were politely interested, but several church leaders became visibly angry and a Pastor even phoned police when we would not leave from the sidewalk in front of the church.
  • Afternoon, Sunday, 3 May: We did a traveling skit at the enormous May Day event in Minneapolis, where tens of thousands of people gathered. Hundreds were leafleted as we did "Normality Screening" guerilla theater, with a special flyer about Ray.

We have to give special thanks to Al Galves for his non-stop effort to help coordinate and support events this weekend, thanks Al!



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Levi Chambers: Young adult leader

Levi Chambers is a sociology student, organizer, and psychiatric survivor working toward mental health justice in Olympia, Washington. He said: "I am a member of MFI because the organization fights for my rights more effectively than groups with funding from big pharma. My family and I stopped supporting those groups, and have been MFI fans ever since." Levi believes in community mental support, non-pathological and non-chemical treatment alternatives, and declines to use psychiatric labels. Currently a 22-year-old college student involved in the Icarus Project and a member of MindFreedom International, Levi hopes to become a researcher who works to gain scientific acknowledgment for alternative recovery models. If you would like to work with Levi to fight discrimination, build alternatives to conventional psychiatry, and demand a non-violent revolution in mental health in Washington State, please contact him.

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