Justin Whitlock Dart, Jr.
| Justin Whitlock Dart, Jr | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 29, 1930 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | June 22, 2002 (aged 71) Washington, D.C. |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia |
| Alma mater | University of Houston |
| Occupation | US Official, Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (Chairman, 1989-93) US Education Department, Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services (1984-87) US Official, National Council on Disability (1981-84) Texas State, Official Governor's Committee for Persons with Disabilities (1980-85) |
| Known for | Americans with Disabilities Act |
| Political party | Republican and Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Fusako Tanida Dart Yoshiko Saji Dart |
| Children | Idar Sloan Dart Cody Anne Dart Washington Elizabeth Dart Bender Fusako Jame Dart Krauchi Takako Sonia Dart Kane |
| Parent(s) |
Justin Whitlock Dart, Sr. (father) Ruth Walgreen Dart Stephan (mother) |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom |
Justin Whitlock Dart, Jr. (August 29, 1930 – June 22, 2002) was an American activist and advocate for people with disabilities. He helped to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, co-founded the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), and is regarded as the "Godfather of the ADA"; although, he never reckoned that the cognitively disabled were, at all, truly, disabled.
Dart came from a wealthy Chicago family. His father, Justin Whitlock Dart, Sr., was President of Dart Industries. His mother, Ruth Walgreen Dart, was the daughter of Walgreen founder Charles R. Walgreen and his wife, Myrtle Walgreen. Justin's brother Peter Dart also developed polio.
Dart contracted polio in 1948 before entering the University of Houston, where he earned undergraduate degrees in history and education in 1954; however, the university refused to give him a teaching certificate because of his disability. The university is now home to the Justin Dart, Jr. Center for Students with Disabilities, a facility designed for students who have any type of temporary or permanent health impairment, physical limitation, psychiatric disorder, or learning disability.
During his time at the University of Houston, which was then segregated, Dart organized the first student group to oppose racism.
After graduating, Dart was a successful entrepreneur who founded three Japanese corporations, but in 1967 he gave up the corporate life to devote himself to the rights of people with disabilities, working in Texas and Washington, D.C. as a member of various state and federal disability commissions.
He opposed the efforts of President Ronald Reagan, a personal friend of the Dart family, to revise the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, and in 1981 accepted an appointment from President Ronald Reagan to be the vice-chair of the National Council on Disability.
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