When the woman, Amy Cooper, declined, Christian Cooper began filming. Last Friday morning, four days after a video of a racist incident in New York’s Central Park swept across the internet, birder Corina Newsome posted a video to Twitter. "Racism is a direct to threat to environmental progress," says James. The first Black Birders Week started on Sunday amidst ongoing protests over police brutality and racial injustice sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis on Monday. "Most of my friends are afraid of being harassed or assaulted if they were to leave the city to take in nature, because you hardly ever see Black people camping and enjoying outdoors. "It's not only good for the people that have historically been excluded, it's good for the field as well," says Newsome. Tykee James is the Government Affairs Coordinator for the National Audubon Society in Washington, DC, the gold standard for avian conservation and advocacy. “That could easily have been any one of us,” she says. Audubon protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Diversity is its own benefit, a concept proven in disciplines from genetics to, well, economics and natural sciences. In just a couple of days, more than 30 people organized Black Birders Week via text, Zoom, shared documents, and volunteered time. The second goal is to educate the birding and broader outdoor-loving community about the challenges Black birders specifically face. "Because that was the only Black person I saw working with animals.". The event was created as a response to the Central Park birdwatching incident and police brutality against Black Americans. The group has three goals that don’t stop after the week of activism, says Tykee James, a Black Birders Week organizer and the National Audubon Society’s government affairs coordinator. Starting Sunday and running through this Friday, Black Birders Week includes. That is the beauty of #BlackBirdersWeek, a week of social media events organized by a group of Black folks in the STEM community who saw themselves reflected in the video of Christian Cooper being attacked (because that is what the threat of violence is) while birding in Central Park. By Jillian Mock Reporter, Audubon Magazine. Troutman considers himself one of the lucky ones. The first Black Birders Week started on Sunday amidst ongoing protests over police brutality and racial injustice sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis on Monday. The white ibis. Nature is for everyone," Troutman says. She grew up in Philadelphia, loving nature and animals, and assuming that, among the Steve Irwins and Jeff Corwins of the world, the only professional path for someone like her was to become a veterinarian. This is tremendous. The name of our Audubon chapter should not add to that list of prejudices. Are the Trump Administration's Environmental Rollbacks Built to Last? "My work brings me so much joy," she says. Through education and open dialogue, “people in the community who are white can hold each other accountable to make sure these spaces are not hostile to Black people,” Newsome says. In response, scientists and nature enthusiasts introduced themselves to one another, discussed their research, and shared photos from outdoor adventures. We protect birds and the places they need. To start, here are pictures of me birding and with my study species, the common murre pic.twitter.com/zokPwSEH6I, My favorite thing today? "But what does that mean if I don't see anybody who looks like me, who says, 'Hey, you can be a scientist like me,' who can tell you, 'You don't have to be limited to what your parents or neighborhood say you need to be. The week ends on Friday with #BlackWomenWhoBird, a final call to build community on Twitter and beyond around birding. All of this experience, and Troutman says people have still occasionally looked at him with doubt. And, of course, the penguin. Newsome announced the event on Twitter on Friday, as well as unveiling a new Twitter account. He and his brothers, father and uncle would go fishing on the weekends. It's what Troutman had, in a form, every time he went fishing with his family. So as protests roil, the country contends yet again with the deeply-entrenched racism that has led to Black scientists being excluded, to Black nature lovers feeling unsafe, to a minor disagreement in the park ending in a racially loaded call to police, and a Black man being killed on the Minneapolis pavement. When the woman, Amy Cooper, declined, Christian Cooper began filming. While getting people hooked on birds is definitely a goal of Black Birders Week, there's a lot more at stake. They don't talk about Black ranchers.". On Tuesday is the #AskABlackBirder event, with a two-hour Q&A with Black birders on Twitter from 7pm to 9 pm ET, followed up with the #BirdingWhileBlack livestream discussions on Thursday, from 12pm-1:30pm ET and from 7pm-8:30pm ET. Furthermore, the series drew attention to several Black birders and naturalists, including Birds of North America''s host Jason Ward, wildlife biologist and author J. They're also promoting human diversity in birding and conservation. Corina Newsome had a similar experience. Black Birders Week was a week-long series of online events, running from May 31st, 2020 to June 5th, 2020. The Audubon Society, the National Park Service and countless other organizations have boosted their work, introducing social media to a whole realm of cool birds and new discoveries -- and new faces that challenge and change science stereotypes. Christian Cooper, a Black birder in New York City, The realities of being a black birdwatcher, they are also historically excluded from the academic and professional spaces, He also hosts a series of podcasts about nature and conservation, EPA proposes lead pipe rule changes after 20 years, but some advocates say it doesn't go far enough, One needs to look no further than Flint, Michigan, would coincide with one of the most painful racial episodes, 'My emotions were so raw': The people creating art to remember George Floyd. National Audubon Society Newsome has said that Black Birders Week has two main goals, beyond interrupting stereotypes about who belongs in the outdoors. Live-streamed discussions took place for a week in early June in which participants highlighted their joy of birding, … The National Parks Have a Diversity Problem. After a white woman called police on a black man birding in New York City, a group of black scientists got together to create Black Birder Week. Her moment of realization came when a Black woman working at the Philadelphia Zoo invited her to go behind the scenes. "In my opinion, there is not better vehicle for advocacy for a bird," he says. It's what changed Newsome's perception of her potential. "I had never been to a zoo, and before I saw her in action, it never crossed my mind that I could be a zookeeper," Newsome says. By now, we hope you are familiar with the incident in Central Park that involved NY City Audubon Society board member Christian Cooper. Audubon celebrates diversity and condemns racism. Black Birders Week co-organizer Tykee James is government affairs coordinator at the National Audubon Society and leads birding walks for congressional staffers. And look at what happens to someone like. The organizers, a group of Black scientists, nature lovers, and friends, say this event will be the first of many—a springboard to shape a more diverse future for birding, conservation, and the natural sciences. And as these nature lovers live their fullest experiences, they hope others will see them, and realize they can too. "People assume just because we're Black, we don't like the outdoors," he says. Birders who aren’t Black can support the initiative by spreading the word, learning from the livestream, and retweeting the shared stories and images. Pumpkin Bird Feeder Makes a Happy Harvest For Birds, To Help Birds This Winter, Go Easy on Fall Yard Work, Learn to Identify Five Owls by Their Calls, The Woods Are My Safe Haven—But That's Not True for Everyone. Black birders encounter. “The only reason I and countless other people are even in a career in biology or wildlife or interested in it is because [we] saw someone like [us] doing it,” she says. on Sunday, explaining that while the Central Park incident inspired Black Birders Week, it’s also a response to the recent killings of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. NJ: Black Birders Week to me was created to show people that Black people in nature exist, that we love bird watching and STEM. Black people aren't just excluded from natural spaces. In a now-infamous video exchange, a woman falsely accused Cooper of threatening violence and called the police after Cooper asked her to leash her dog. The Black experience is also about witnessing a sea turtle nesting for the first time on a drive along the Texas coast, as Troutman did. Hog Island Audubon Camp introduces our Making Bird Connections lecture series. "When I was working for the Fish and Wildlife Service, even wearing a uniform, guests would question why I was there. In their advocacy work, it's about straightening the path for those who want to follow joyfully in their footsteps.