"Do artifacts have politics?", accessibility, and the field of data visualization need to have a conversation.

Exclusion from data visualization is a political act. The casual way in which designers accomplish this in our technical arrangements is morally and ethically wrong.

Making a visual low contrast because you value a minimalist design?

Making a graphic without alt text because you believe a "picture is worth 1000 words"?

Making an interactive chart only usable with a mouse because it is your preference?

These decisions are deeply political.

Excluding someone based on your preference of an experience is a political act.

If knowledge stored within data is so valuable and the activity of visualization is so important for accessing that knowledge -- our design philosophy must mature.

"Visualization" is ready to grow.

Visualization is *already* an attempt to make data more accessible.

So why have we only gone part of the way on this journey? Why have we stopped once we satisfied ourselves?

Design is an act that requires us to do more than make things for our own use.

We have a lot of work to do.