Between 1986 and 1990, Justin Dart jr. made multiple trips to all 50 United States, eager to document the ongoing struggles of people with disabilities to assert their civil rights. By bringing these impassioned testimonies before Congress, Dart effectively convinced policy-makers of the need for legal protection of the rights of people with disabilities.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was born.

Please help us transcribe your state’s disability rights stories in time to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ADA on July 26, 2015. With your financial support, It’s Our Story can create a searchable, fully accessible database that can be enjoyed, interrogated, and celebrated by students, historians, and educators for years to come.

It’s time to share our stories with the world.

Missing in Action

Freedom of Information Act Request Required

In 2001, original, handwritten testimonies—as well as audio recordings and newspaper clippings—were donated to the Department of Labor. These media chronicled the cumulative impact of people with disabilities and the formation of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.

Despite having made numerous inquiries as to the whereabouts of these original ADA Diaries, It’s Our Story has long been unable to track down these seminal documents that have helped to shape the past, present, and future for American citizens with disabilities.

Only with the help of Jonathan Young, Chairman of the National Council on Disability, was It’s Our Story able to secure photocopies of photocopies chronicling only a fraction of these historic materials.

Please contact It’s Our Story’s Scott Cooper to be a part of this wide-ranging quest. Together, we can help rescue the vital voices of the past.

• Florida
• Georgia
• Guam
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa