“. . . ADA is a landmark commandment of fundamental human morality. It is the world’s first declaration of equality for people with disabilities by any nation. It will proclaim to America and to the world that people with disabilities are fully human . . .” (Justin Dart)
On July 26th, the U.S. will observe the 20th anniversary of the passage of the original Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Though the disabilities community may be most aware of this cause for celebration, it is for all Americans an important milestone in our nation’s efforts to extend the possibility of the American dream to all its citizens. No one appreciated the significance of the ADA more than Justin Dart, who is widely recognized as a driving force behind the passage of that legislation. For his more than 30 years of advocacy, he is often referred to as the father of the ADA and the godfather of the disability rights movement.
Justin Dart, Jr. was born in 1930 into a prominent and wealthy family, headed by his grandfather who was the founder of the Walgreen Drugstore chain and his father who founded a multi-national conglomerate, Dart Industries. Justin contracted polio at age 18, and though he escaped the fatal outcome his doctors had predicted, the disease made him a wheelchair user for the rest of his life. Still, this second chance at life seems to have been a turning point for Dart who had felt up to then a “super loser” in a family of “super winners.” He earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Houston by 1954 and built several successful companies in Mexico and Japan in the 1960s.
During this period, Dart used his businesses to provide work for people with disabilities. In Japan, for instance, he took people with severe disabilities out of institutions and gave them paying jobs within his company. But his total commitment to the cause of human and disability rights was sealed following a visit to a rehabilitation center for children with polio in Vietnam in 1966. So disturbed was he by the squalid and inhumane conditions observed there, that Justin and his wife ended their business interests and totally immersed themselves in disability activism back in the states.
In the 1980s, Dart was appointed to several national positions including vice-chair of the National Council on Disability, director of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, and chair of the President’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities. As chair of this Committee, he instituted a significant change in focus from the traditional position of urging business to “hire the handicapped” to advocating for full civil rights for people with disabilities.
At the signing of the ADA in 1990, Justin Dart was on the podium on the White House lawn with President George H. Bush and received the first pen used by the President at the ceremony. While taking pride in the passage of this landmark legislation, Dart always insisted on sharing the credit with a long list of others who had shared in the struggle. Though somewhat sidelined by a series of heart attacks in the late 90s, he continued to lobby for the rights of people with disabilities right up to his death in 2002.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 has been described as a landmark civil rights act that would “. . . provide our disabled community with a powerful expansion of protections . . . and guarantee fair and just access to the fruits of American life which we all must be able to enjoy.” In a true sense the passage of the ADA is Justin Dart’s legacy. But he would be the first to acknowledge that the struggle to provide those protections and guarantee fair and just access is far from over. The 20th anniversary of the ADA is an opportunity for us as individuals, as a local community and as a nation not only to celebrate but also to assess our progress in truly implementing the letter and the spirit of this important civil rights legislation.
Did You Know?
• Throughout our nation and our state, the 20th anniversary of the passage of the ADA will be observed by various disability events. In Cape May County, our major disabilities event in 2010 will be the Second Annual Cape May County Community Disabilities Awareness Day, to be held on Saturday, Nov. 13 at the Avalon Community Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All are welcome. Save the date.
• Disabilities advocates nationwide are urging Congress to pass the ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) Act (S.493 and H.R. 1205), which will allow individuals with disabilities a tax deduction up to $2,000 per year, for contributions to an able account. This account could fund a variety of essential expenses including medical and dental care, community based supports, assistive technology, education, employment training, housing and transportation
• The New Jersey State budget for this year has enhanced the Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD) program in a way that may save PAAD subscribers money. Effective July 1, 2010, the PAAD co-payment for generic drugs will decrease from $6 to $5. A PAAD participant may pay less for generic drugs if his/her Medicare prescription drug plan charges less than the new PAAD co-payment for generics. For more information, contact the PAAD program at 800-792-9745.
• The U.S. Congress has just failed again to pass an extension of the increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP). Without enactment of a six-month Medicaid FMAP extension, states may be forced to cut billions of dollars from programs that include home and community based services, supported employment, dental care and even basic health care. Interested parties are being encouraged to contact their Senators to support the extension of the Medicaid FMAP increase.
Pierson is the Coordinator of the Cape May County Office of Disability Services
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
