Accessibility
At AAoC, we are committed to making the spaces we hold, both virtual and in person, as accessible as possible for all of our communities. We strive to do so with transparency and offer the information below about the steps we have taken with the hopes that others can do the same, and can offer us advice about developing even more accessible protocols.
Our Accessibility Goals
We aim to challenge and confront ableism within societal structures and ourselves. We do so within the context of our workplace policies, our community offerings, and our organizational relationships. We hold accessibility not just a goal, but a priority; making sure that all of our community members can participate in the capacity they decide. We do so because a commitment to accessibility is a commitment to challenging colonialism, white supremacy, anti-Blackness, capitalism, imperialism, misogyny, queer and transphobia.
Our Website
In creating and maintaining our website we are intentional to meet the standard, level A Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. This includes:
Adding descriptive alt text for every image so that people with screen readers are able to know what the content is
Making sure there is alt text for all links, so that when using a screen readers people will know where the link is directing them
Using an accurate heading structure so that people with screen readers are able to navigate pages easily
Ensuring that text font, size, and color contrast is within WCAG parameters for accessible legibility, so that people with low vision are able to navigate the site
Being conscious of text spacing and alignment, to make it easier for people with low literacy or cognitive disability to be able to read the text
Programs & Events
Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, we have held nearly all of our events online, and plan to continue to offer virtual events for the foreseeable future. Any in-person events will also have ways to engage virtually. We recognize that “the current abled culture [...] deems disabled people as disposable in this pandemic” and we are committed to practicing solidarity with disabled folks by creating space for people to safely connect in the face of coronavirus.
All of our events offer live transcription, with CART captioning available by request. We work with CART captioners who are BIPOC and/or queer or trans, to meet the specific cultural needs of our communities.
We also collaborate with QTBIPOC ASL interpreters, both Deaf and hearing, to provide ASL interpretation for Deaf participants.
We know that access needs change over time, so we make a habit of asking people what their needs are at the start of all of our meetings, and in all of our registration forms. We do our best to do check-ins in the middle of meetings as well, and encourage participants to reach out if things change.
Recommendations & Resources
We strongly recommend against having in-person meetings at this time, as a practice of disability justice.
We maintain a list of QTBIPOC ASL interpreters, and CART captioners and are willing to share with others if requested. If you (or someone you know) would like to be added to this list, let us know!
One of our community members made a handout to help folks understand access needs and to provide examples for meeting attendees. Download, share, and add to the handout here.
Having trouble accessing any of our programs or resources?
We know we can always improve the accessibility of what we provide. Contact us to let us know what your access needs are!