Editor,
Have you ridden public transportation lately? While Rosa Parks was finally able to sit at the front of the bus, we in the disability community are still just trying to get on the bus.
This is just one of the things that Justin Dart Jr. fought for all his life. OK, I know what you're thinking - who is Justin Dart, and why should I care?
Dart was a leader in the disability rights movement. He is often referred to as the father of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the father of the disability rights movement. Dart suffered from post-polio syndrome and congestive heart failure. Dart was not only the leader of the disability movement for three decades, but he also was an advocate for the rights of women, people of color and gays and lesbians.
He was the recipient of five presidential appointments and numerous honors, including the Hubert Humphrey Civil Rights Award. Dart was appointed by President Reagan as the vice chairman of the National Council on Disability in 1981, where he worked on the national policy that called for an end to the discrimination of the disabled which came to be the act passed in 1990. President Bush called him the "ADA man" when he was introduced to members of the Cabinet. He was on the podium when former President George Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law on July 26, 1990.
In 1998, Dart received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award. Dart was dedicated to his vision of a revolution of empowerment. Dart never failed to acknowledge those who worked with him to make such great achievements, especially his wife, Yoshiko. Dart always stressed that his casements were only possible with the help of hundreds of other activists, colleagues and friends.
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After receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Dart sent out replicas of the award to hundreds of disability rights activists across the country, writing that the award belonged to them. We celebrate July 26 each year as not only the anniversary, or "Disability Pride" event commemorating the signing of the ADA, but as our eventual Independence Day.
Each and every person who is able to walk, see or talk is known to our community as a TAB, or temporarily able-bodied. You see, it only takes one second of someone not paying attention and you can become one of us. So the next time you see one of us trying to get on public transportation, we ask that you remember you are a TAB and to help us to continue on in making the world more accessible, starting with our little corner of it.
Write to your congressmen and come join in our marches for equality.
Just remember that you or someone you love could be one second away from becoming one of us.
Kay Wilson
Daily Lobo reader
