Disability Pride: The High Expectations of a New Generation

Disability Pride: The High Expectations of a New Generation

Millions of young people grew up knowing the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act as a birthright. They now demand its guarantees “” and even more.

A disability awareness button celebrating the Americans With Disabilities Act.Credit...National Museum of American HistoryJuly 17, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET

This article is part of a series exploring how the Americans With Disabilities Act has shaped modern life for people with disabilities.

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To get to her job as the communications director of a legal office in Philadelphia, Imani Barbarin gets in her car “” when the coronavirus pandemic doesn't require working from home “” and drives to a train station 20 minutes away.

There's a station closer to her house, just a two-minute drive. But Ms. Barbarin, who has cerebral palsy, walks with crutches; the nearby station doesn't have an elevator, and the steep steps are too hard to climb.

Ms. Barbarin was born four months before the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act became law in July 1990. She belongs to the A.D.A. generation “” at least 20 million people with disabilities, according to the U.S. Census