The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities
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Providing information, education, and training to build knowledge, develop skills, and change attitudes that will lead to increased independence, productivity, self determination, integration and inclusion (IPSII) for people with developmental disabilities and their families.

Moments in Disability History 7

"Solidarity Forever"

Listen to the Inspirational Music of Jeff Moyer! Hear the Stirring Words of Justin Dart Moving Everyone to Celebrate and Lead Us Forward

Justin Dart, Jr., a leader of the international Disability Rights Movement and a renowned human rights activist, is widely recognized as the father of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He gave recognition to the "tens of thousands of people who fought for the first civil rights law in the history of the world for people with disabilities."

The background narrative for the CD Solidarity Forever!, created by Jeff Moyer, provides a context for the origins of the music that accompanies Justin Dart's oratory and how this music came to be recorded. Each song relates in some way to disability history and the role that each plays in that history is explained.

The video "Storyville" features Mr. Dart and a few of the people who were a part of the great fight for civil rights: Patty McGill Smith, Jane Smith, Brad Johnson, Jim Dickson, Becky Ogle, Claudia Gordon, Pat Wright, Kyle Glozier and Sarah Reinersten.

Justin Dart died on June 22, 2002.

Jeff Moyer and Justin Dart Jr
Jeff Moyer, left, and Justin Dart Jr.

Sources:

The Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities Home Page

July 1, 2013

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The GCDD is funded under the provisions of P.L. 106-402. The federal law also provides funding to the Minnesota Disability Law Center, the state Protection and Advocacy System, and to the Institute on Community Integration, the state University Center for Excellence. The Minnesota network of programs works to increase the IPSII of people with developmental disabilities and families into community life.

This project was supported, in part by grant number 2401MNSCDD, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.

This website is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,152,808.00 funded by ACL/HHS and $222,000.00 funded by non-federal-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.