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Target: WCAG 2.2 Level AA

Accessibility Statement

We want a real person, on a phone, using a screen reader or keyboard, to be able to plan a real day here. This is what we commit to and how we hold ourselves to it.

Our commitment

Where Tennessee Began aims to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Level AA. WCAG 2.2 AA is the bar US public-sector and public-facing sites are held to (Section 508, ADA Title II) and the forward-looking European standard. We treat it as a floor, not a ceiling.

How we hold ourselves to it

  • Automated gate on every release. An axe-core accessibility scan runs in our continuous-integration pipeline against every kind of page — including each detail-page type and the open search dialog — on every change. A regression that drops a color contrast below the required ratio, removes a label, breaks a definition list, or strips a landmark fails the build before it can ship.
  • Manual checks. Automated tools catch roughly half of the WCAG criteria. We also check keyboard operation, focus order, reduced-motion behavior, and screen-reader output by hand on the visitor-critical paths.
  • Designed for it. Every interactive control meets the minimum target size; focus is always visible; the site honors your prefers-reduced-motion setting; and the interactive map has a list-based alternative so nothing is map-only.

What works today

  • Full keyboard navigation, a skip-to-content link, and a visible focus indicator.
  • Semantic landmarks (header, nav, main, footer) and a logical heading structure.
  • Text alternatives on meaningful images; decorative imagery is hidden from assistive tech.
  • Color contrast meeting AA across the design system, enforced in CI.
  • Live regions announce dynamic content (open-now, weather, search results).

Known limitations

We are honest about where we are not done. The interactive map (a third-party component) is best experienced visually; its data is fully available in the list view, which we consider the accessible path. A formal audit by people who use assistive technology daily (screen readers such as NVDA and VoiceOver) is planned and not yet complete. Where photos carry text in the image, the surrounding page text conveys the same information.

Found a barrier?

If something on this site got in your way, please tell us — it helps us fix it for the next visitor. Email corrections@wheretennesseebegan.com with the page and what happened. We aim to respond within three business days.

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