Skip to main content

Accessibility Statement

The Detroit Badman Digital Archive is committed to providing equitable access to its content for all users, including people with disabilities. This statement describes the conformance standard the archive targets, the steps taken to meet it, the known limitations that remain, and how to report a barrier.

Conformance target

The archive targets conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at Level AA, the standard adopted by Michigan State University as its official Technical Guidelines effective January 1, 2026, and aligned with the federal accessibility requirements for public university digital content that took effect April 24, 2026.

The archive additionally aligns with the MSU Digital Accessibility Basic Checklist, which covers contrast, alternative text, heading structure, list semantics, link purpose, motion and animation, and shape/size/position independence.

Conformance status

The archive partially conforms with WCAG 2.2 Level AA. "Partially conforms" means most parts of the site meet the standard, but specific areas — described under "Known limitations" below — do not yet fully meet it. The archive's compliance status is reviewed and updated as remediation work continues.

What has been done

The archive underwent a full accessibility audit in March 2026 against the MSU Basic Checklist and WCAG 2.2 AA. The findings informed targeted remediation across the codebase, including:

  • A site-wide skip-to-content link, sequential heading hierarchy, and visible focus indicators (3px gold outline) on every interactive element.
  • Color-independent identification for the archive's five badman modalities — each modality is distinguished by a unique marker shape, network shape, and icon in addition to color, with shape-first labels in legends.
  • Semantic markup for source lists, navigation, and detail panels, with ARIA live regions on dynamic content so screen readers announce updates when a figure is selected.
  • Programmatic focus management on the figure detail panel, so keyboard and screen reader users are taken to new content when it appears.
  • Descriptive link text and screen-reader warnings for links that open in new tabs.
  • A pause-and-resume control for the network graph's force simulation, plus support for the prefers-reduced-motion system setting, which immediately settles the graph for users who request reduced motion at the operating-system level.
  • Verified contrast ratios for body text and link text against the archive's dark green palette, with secondary text upgraded to meet the 4.5:1 minimum.

Known limitations

The following areas are not yet fully conformant. The archive is actively working on each, and users who encounter barriers in these areas are encouraged to report them using the contact information below so an alternative format can be arranged.

Interactive visualizations

The map (built with Leaflet) and network graph (built with D3) are inherently visual interfaces. The archive provides screen-reader-accessible alternatives, keyboard interaction paths, and ARIA descriptions for both, but some spatial and relational information is more readily perceived by sighted users. Users who prefer a non-visual path through the same data are encouraged to contact the project director for a tabular summary.

Third-party map tiles

Map tiles are served by OpenStreetMap and have their own contrast and labeling characteristics that the archive does not control. Where geographic information is essential to a figure's entry, that information is also conveyed in the figure's text description.

Submitted and community content

Future community-contributed material may not always meet the same accessibility standards as content authored by the project. Contributed content is reviewed before publication, and accessibility remediation is part of that review, but user-generated content carries inherent variability.

Ongoing work

Accessibility is treated as architectural rather than a one-time audit. As new figures, modalities, and features are added, the archive's design system — including modality shapes, focus styles, and screen-reader utilities — scales with them. Future additions, including the planned docuseries integration and the community submission repository, will be evaluated against the same WCAG 2.2 AA standard before launch.

Reporting a barrier

If you encounter content on this site that is not accessible to you, or if you would like material in an alternative format, please contact the project director:

Harry M. Foster
Doctoral Candidate, Department of English
Michigan State University
hfoster@badmandigitalarchive.com

When reporting, please include the page URL, a description of the barrier, and the assistive technology and browser you are using if relevant. This information helps the issue get resolved more quickly.

Statement details

Last reviewed: April 25, 2026.
Audit standard: WCAG 2.2 Level AA + MSU Digital Accessibility Basic Checklist.
Next scheduled review: Quarterly, or sooner if a significant feature is released.