Justin Dart in Indiana

Justin Whitlock Dart Jr.

Justin Dart is considered the “father” of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. Prior to the ADA's passage, his Indiana visits to hear the concerns of Hoosiers with disabilities had a galvanizing effect. Nancy Griffin recalls, “He was so compelling. And, you just couldn't say no to Justin.” He is also remembered as generous. “Justin would want a list of every person involved in advocating for the ADA in Indiana before he visited,” Christine Dahlberg relates. “In his signature cowboy hat, he would roll his wheelchair up to the front of the room and start every meeting thanking that entire list of people – dozens of them – making sure he gave the credit to our state advocates.”

Ric Edwards was among the Indiana advocates who spent time with Dart, who died in 2002. He recalls their first meeting. “So I'm sitting in the lobby of the hotel where we had invited Justin to come speak and I'm looking around keeping an eye out for him. And I see this gentleman coming down the hallway in what looked like a wheelchair that was right out of Goodwill, wearing this funny looking hat and I thought, I'd better go take care of this guy and deal with him before Justin shows up. Well it turned out it was Justin Dart.”
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