Not yet a member?Join now!|Lost password
National Council on Disability
06/22/2012 | Press release
NCD Honors Life, Legacy of Justin Dart
distributed by noodls on 06/23/2012 12:47
Friday, June 22nd marks the 10th anniversary of the passing
of Justin Dart, Jr. Dart was many things to the disability
community - a trusted friend, respected colleague and valued
mentor. In honor of his life and legacy, NCD shares the
statement he prepared for friends and fellow advocates on the
occasion of his death. Thanks to Justin, his beloved
Yoshiko, and countless others the "revolution of empowerment"
continues. Lead On!! Lead On!! Lead On!!
Listen to the heart of this old soldier. As with all of us
the time comes when body and mind are battered and weary. But
I do not go quietly into the night. I do not give up
struggling to be a responsible contributor to the sacred
continuum of human life. I do not give up struggling to
overcome my weakness, to conform my life - and that part of
my life called death - to the great values of the human
dream.
Death is not a tragedy. It is not an evil from which we must
escape. Death is as natural as birth. Like childbirth, death
is often a time of fear and pain, but also of profound
beauty, of celebration of the mystery and majesty which is
life pushing its horizons toward oneness with the truth of
mother universe. The days of dying carry a special
responsibility. There is a great potential to communicate
values in a uniquely powerful way - the person who dies
demonstrating for civil rights.
Let my final actions thunder of love, solidarity, protest -
of empowerment.
I adamantly protest the richest culture in the history of the
world, a culture which has the obvious potential to create a
golden age of science and democracy dedicated to maximizing
the quality of life of every person, but which still
squanders the majority of its human and physical capital on
modern versions of primitive symbols of power and
prestige.
I adamantly protest the richest culture in the history of the
world which still incarcerates millions of humans with and
without disabilities in barbaric institutions, backrooms and
worse, windowless cells of oppressive perceptions, for the
lack of the most elementary empowerment supports.
I call for solidarity among all who love justice, all who
love life, to create a revolution that will empower every
single human being to govern his or her life, to govern the
society and to be fully productive of life quality for self
and for all.
I do so love all the patriots of this and every nation who
have fought and sacrificed to bring us to the threshold of
this beautiful human dream. I do so love America the
beautiful and our wild, creative, beautiful people. I do so
love you, my beautiful colleagues in the disability and civil
rights movement.
My relationship with Yoshiko Dart includes, but also
transcends, love as the word is normally defined. She is my
wife, my partner, my mentor, my leader and my inspiration to
believe that the human dream can live. She is the greatest
human being I ever known.
Yoshiko, beloved colleagues, I am the luckiest man in the
world to have been associated with you. Thanks to you, I die
free. Thanks to you, I die in the joy of struggle. Thanks to
you, I die in the beautiful belief that the revolution of
empowerment will go on. I love you so much. I'm with you
always. Lead on! Lead on!
