Nine-day exhibit in Independence, Missouri, educated the public on psychiatric human rights violations, informed consent and the need to protect families from coercive mental health practices
KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 12, 2026 – The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) brought its traveling exhibit, Psychiatry: An Industry of Death, to the Kansas City area this past month, drawing hundreds of visitors to the Independence Shopping Center.
The exhibit gave residents a direct look at psychiatry’s history of human rights abuses, from coercive institutional practices to electroshock, psychiatric drugging and the need for fully informed consent.
A ribbon-cutting event featured Reverend Chauncey Black, an ordained minister with a doctorate in psychological studies and a long record of civic, religious and community involvement. Rev. Black, formerly pastor of The Church of the Messiah in Chicago, returned to his hometown of Kansas City after retirement and has remained active in community projects.
Speaking at the opening, Rev. Black warned that psychiatric abuses contribute to the deterioration of education, morals and spiritual values. “People need to become more aware, educate themselves on the facts and take action to bring a halt to psychiatry’s destruction of our society,” Rev. Black told those gathered, applauding the exhibit as a powerful introduction to greater public involvement.
Over the nine-day run, visitors toured the exhibit, watched documentary materials and took home educational resources. Many visitors expressed concern over current psychiatric abuses and said the information needed to reach more families, educators, officials and community leaders.
The Kansas City-area exhibit comes as CCHR continues to raise national awareness of psychiatric drug risks and the right to informed consent. In April, CCHR International released a report documenting 145 violent incidents involving individuals who were reportedly taking or withdrawing from prescription psychotropic drugs, resulting in 720 deaths and 1,602 injuries. CCHR has called for stronger oversight, including forensic reporting and psychotropic drug toxicology screening in cases of mass or extreme violence.
CCHR also continues to support reforms aligned with human rights guidance from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which have called for the elimination of coercive mental health practices and the protection of free and informed consent.
“Public education is the first line of defense,” said a CCHR representative. “Too many people do not know the risks, the history or their rights. This exhibit gives families the facts they need to ask hard questions, demand informed consent and protect themselves from psychiatric abuse.”
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights is a nonprofit mental health watchdog co-founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz. CCHR works to investigate and expose psychiatric violations of human rights and has helped bring about laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive mental health practices.
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