By Cyndi Jones, Publisher
To any of you who have read MAINSTREAM for any length of time it comes as no surprise that I hold Justin and Yoshiko Dart in very high esteem.
Their leadership and sacrifices to move the disability agenda forward are a true gift.
About a year ago Justin called me and said he had some things he wanted to share with the community. Would we be interested? And so began a process that took a lot longer than either of us expected.
In the meantime, Justin canceled a world tour due to illness and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on January 15.
I wanted to know what his secret is, how does he empower so many people? What burns inside of him to drive him to work literally night and day for human rights and, more specifically, disability rights?
In 1987 when he was the head of Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), he gave a speech to the Senate, knowing full well that to do so would mean his termination. He went ahead with his testimony because he knew that it was the only way to get the truth about disability services into the congressional record. He put the truth above his career.
At a meeting later that year, Justin talked to disability leaders about what had happened. Everyone was upset about the situation. But Justin said, "Many a good soldier falls in battle and the next soldier comes and picks up his sword and goes forward."
Justin is always making comparisons between disability rights and war.
There are Presidents and would-be Presidents who know Justin doesn't lose many battles, so it is best to be on the side Justin's on. But that is because when you believe your life is on the line, losing is not an option.
A few years ago my heart was heavy with the enormity of what we were engaged in. The ADA backlash was just beginning and I was looking down the road to the tidal wave coming. Justin said, "The disability community has been very successful the last two decades. It is like an army that has taken a great deal of territory, but doesn't have enough soldiers to defend the field. We cannot do it with smoke and mirrors. We have to find more soldiers."
During the battle for health care reform, Justin organized in every state for Real Health Care for All þ no more band-aid solutions. At one point Justin called and said that he had decided to terminate his private health care insurance policy. He believed that by paying his insurance premiums he was helping to finance the war against health care reform. "The insurance companies are using my premiums to lobby against us. I will not support them." Just think what would have happened if everyone had followed Justin's example.
He never gives a speech without acknowledging everyone present who has helped him. Maybe this is part of his secret: he shares his glory.
When awarded the Medal of Freedom, he immediately went back and put it around Yoshiko's neck. He said that he was accepting the medal on behalf of all of us.
He calls us patriots, soldiers, defenders, comrades and friends. He never ends a speech without saying, "I respect you. I believe in you. I love you."
Cyndi Jones is Publisher of MAINSTREAM.
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