MDO’s Speaker Night Presents

Systemic oppression has a powerful influence in people’s marginalization and mental health. Within this system, supremacy and discrimination are perceived as 'normal'. Ableism is a system that places value on people’s bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy, intelligence, and excellence. 

These constructed ideas of normalcy are deeply rooted in anti-Blackness, eugenics and capitalism.

During this talk we will learn and share more about the different models (including the medical model) that have shaped the idea of normalcy to dehumanize, marginalize, dominate all those that are considered outside of the normalcy concept. 

Maria Basualdo is the research coordinator for Ontario Public Interest Research Group. She has twenty years of experience in community-based participatory research and has the expertise and know-how to coordinate people, organizations, research components and events and this brings a degree of cohesion and control to the project’s many activities. Lastly, Maria has gained through OPIRG, knowledge about anti-oppression, counter-colonialism, and autonomous and creative principles of organizing.