Black Birders Week

Last updated
Black Birders Week
NMAAHC Bird Walk.jpg
TypeEnvironmental
SignificanceIncrease the visibility of Black birders
EndsFirst week of June
DateLast week of May
FrequencyAnnual

Black Birders Week is a week-long series of online events to highlight black nature enthusiasts and to increase the visibility of black birders, who face unique challenges and dangers when they are engaged in outdoor activities. [1] The event was created as a response to the Central Park birdwatching incident and police brutality against Black Americans. The inaugural event ran from May 31 to June 5, 2020. The week of events was organized by a group of STEM professionals and students known as the BlackAFinSTEM Collective. [2]

Contents

Origin

Black Birders Week was announced on Twitter on May 29, 2020. [3] [1] The initiative was prompted in part by the Central Park birdwatching incident and the murders of African Americans such as Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. [4] [5] [6] According to co-founder Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, the goal of the initiative is "normalizing the fact that Black people exist in the birding and natural sciences community". [7] Black people have historically been excluded from academic and professional spaces and lack visibility and representation in the natural sciences community and among birders in particular. [7] [8]

The week-long event was conceived and organized by members of a group of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals and students known as BlackAFinSTEM collective. In addition to Opoku-Agyeman, other co-founders include Jason Ward, Sheridan Alford, Danielle Belleny, Chelsea Connor, Joseph Saunders, Kassandra Ford, Armand Cann, Nicole Jackson, Corina Newsome and Tykee James. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

History

The first event series ran in 2020 from May 31 to June 5 using the #BlackBirdersWeek hashtag on Twitter and Instagram. Through these events and others, the series highlighted research carried out by Black birders, the happiness they find in nature, the racism experienced, and the importance of inclusivity in the outdoors. [17] Furthermore, the series drew attention to several Black birders and naturalists, including Birds of North America 's host Jason Ward, wildlife biologist J. Drew Lanham, wildlife conservationist Corina Newsome, National Audubon Society's government affairs coordinator Tykee James, and herpetologist Earyn McGee. [18] [19] The series was endorsed and promoted by advocacy groups, conservation organizations, and government agencies including: the National Audubon Society, [20] the American Birding Association, [21] the American Bird Conservancy, [22] [23] the US National Park Service, [24] and the Ecological Society of America. [25] Additionally, it garnered attention from various science and mainstream media outlets.

Co-organizer Corina Newsome with Tony, a hyacinth macaw, in 2017 Portrait of ornithologist and science communicator Corina Newsome with Tony, a Hyacinth Macaw.jpg
Co-organizer Corina Newsome with Tony, a hyacinth macaw, in 2017

In 2021, the week was continued. [26] [27] [28]

In 2022, Black Birders Week was continued. The Smithsonian Institution hosted several programs to support the week's effort to increasing representation in bird watching communities. [29] The National Museum of Natural History hosted a panel with Chelsea Connor, Lynette Strickland and Amelia-Juliette Demery with opening remarks by Dara M. Wilson. [29]

Both institutions continued holding Black Birders Week events in 2023. [30] In New Hampshire, for example, the event continued previous years' focuses on nature awareness, accessibility, and equity. [31] Events continued in 2024. [32]

Response

In response to the 2020 series, the National Wildlife Federation planned to dedicate part of their Conservation Fellowship and Intern Programs [33] to young biologists of color. [34] The organisers intend to continue the series in future years. [4] The event also inspired other similar week-long events celebrating Black people in various STEM fields, #BlackInAstro week, #BlackBotanistsWeek,#BlackInNeuro, and #BlackInChem . [35] [36]

Related Research Articles

The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world. There are completely independent Audubon Societies in the United States, which were founded several years earlier such as the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Indiana Audubon Society, and Connecticut Audubon Society. The societies are named for 19th century naturalist John James Audubon.

BirdNote is a nonprofit public media organization that aims to inspire people to care about the natural world and take steps to protect it. BirdNote produces BirdNote Daily, a daily radio program dedicated to sharing the joy and wonder of birds with listeners and promoting the conservation of birds and their habitats. BirdNote also produces longform podcasts Bring Birds Back and Threatened, and the Spanish language show, BirdNote en Español. BirdNote Daily episodes are two-minute vignettes that incorporate the sounds of birds with stories that illustrate their way of life. Shows can be heard on radio, online, and as a podcast. BirdNote's Executive Director is Nick Bayard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bird Alliance of Oregon</span> Environmental organization

The Bird Alliance of Oregon (formerly Portland Audubon) is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to bird and habitat protection across Oregon in the United States.

Black Twitter is an internet community largely consisting of the Black diaspora of users in the United States and other nations on Twitter, focused on issues of interest to the black community. Feminista Jones described it in Salon as "a collective of active, primarily African-American Twitter users who have created a virtual community proving adept at bringing about a wide range of sociopolitical changes." A similar Black Twitter community arose in South Africa in the early 2010s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hashtag activism</span> Use of hashtags for internet activism

Hashtag activism refers to the use of social media hashtags for Internet activism. The hashtag has become one of the many ways that social media contributes to civic engagement and social movements. The use of the hashtag on social media provides users with an opportunity to share information and opinions about social issues in a way that others (followers) can interact and engage as part of a larger conversation with the potential to create change. The hashtag itself consists of a word or phrase that is connected to a social or political issue, and fosters a place where discourse can occur. Social media provides an important platform for historically marginalized populations. Through the use of hashtags these groups are able to communicate, mobilize, and advocate for issues less visible to the mainstream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Walker (astrochemist)</span> Astrochemist, science communicator, and activist

Ashley Lindalía Walker is an astrochemist, science communicator, and activist. In response to police brutality against Black Americans and sparked by the success of Black Birders Week, Walker co-organized #BlackinChem, #BlackInAstro, and #BlackInPhysics to highlight and amplify the voices of Black researchers and scholars in these fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Ward (naturalist)</span> American naturalist, birder, and activist

Jason Ward is an American naturalist, birder, and activist. He hosted the 2019 television documentary series Birds of North America, and is the co-founder and former CEO of "The BlackAFinSTEM Collective".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corina Newsome</span> American ornithologist and science communicator

Corina Newsome is an American ornithologist, birder, science communicator, and graduate student at Georgia Southern University. In response to the racism faced by Black birder Christian Cooper in Central Park, Newsome co-organized Black Birders Week to celebrate Black birders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman</span> Ghanaian-born American activist, writer

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman is a Ghanaian-born American activist and writer. She is a co-founder and former CEO of the Sadie Collective, as well as a co-founder and co-organizer of Black Birders Week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earyn McGee</span> American herpetologist

Earyn McGee is an American herpetologist and science communicator. She is an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) IF/THEN Ambassador and a 2020 AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellow. In response to the racism faced by Black birdwatcher Christian Cooper in the Central Park birdwatching incident, McGee co-organized Black Birders Week to celebrate Black birders.

The year 2020 in birding and ornithology.

The academic Strike for Black Lives and #ShutDownSTEM day were a mass shutdown of academia that took place around the world on June 10, 2020. The main goals of the strike and the shut down were to reflect upon anti-Black racism in academia and STEM and to commit to actions to eradicate it.

Deja Perkins is an American urban ecologist. She has spoken out vocally against racism in STEM fields, is a co-organizer of Black Birders Week, and is president of the BlackAFinSTEM collective. She graduatated from the North Carolina State University and now is a PhD student at the NC State's Center for Geospatial Analytics, where she examines the spatial data gaps in environmental participatory projects to better understand conservation and nature gaps in urban neighborhoods. Some of her current interests are in the intersection of environmental justice and conservation where she aims to study and take a closer look to how human culture and bias have impacted avian habitat destruction in cities. Some of her latest projects and work are conservation efforts that aim to target climate change in a urbanized cities and metropolitan areas..

BlackInChem is an organization which aims to highlight and increase the visibility of black chemists. The organization was created as a response to Black Birders Week. The inaugural event ran from August 10 - 15, 2020.

Black In Neuro is a non-profit organization that looks to connect, celebrate, and amplify Black voices working in neuroscience. In particular, Black In Neuro looked to increase visibility of Black neuroscientists, who face challenges in navigating the majority white world of academia. The grassroots initiative was launched as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the #BLACKandSTEM initiatives that were inspired worldwide. The inaugural Black In Neuro Week ran from July 27 – August 2, 2020, and they have hosted annual Black In Neuro Week events since in addition to other networking, mentorship, and professional development programming.

Tanisha Marie Williams is an American botanist and the founder of #BlackBotanistsWeek. Williams created the hashtag in 2020 as an initiative to promote Black botanists and to share their work and life experiences on social media. She was inspired after seeing similar initiatives for Black scientists in other fields. Williams' doctoral work focused on predicting plant adaptability to climate change, specifically plants in the Pelargonium genus in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birding in New York City</span>

New York City is home to a large birding community and diverse range of bird species. Though it is the most populous and most densely populated city in the United States, NYC is home to a range of ecological habitats and is situated along the Atlantic Flyway, a major route for migrating birds. More than 400 species have been recorded in the city, and their concentration in the city's urban parklands, forests, marshes, and beaches has made birding a popular activity in the city, especially after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chelsea Connor is a Dominican herpetologist and birder. Her research concerns the interaction between native and introduced Anolis lizards in the Commonwealth of Dominica. While a student, she co-founded #BlackBirdersWeek. She is an advocate for Black people in the United States being out in nature, and feeling safer when they do so.

Nicole Jackson is an American birder and environmental educator. She co-founded the first Black Birders Week in 2020, is a board member for the Columbus Audubon chapter, and is a former member of the National Parks Conservation Association's Next Generation Advisory Council. She has worked with Outdoor Afro, Aldo Leopold Foundation, and Children & Nature Network’s Natural Leaders Network cohort, and North American Association of Environmental Education.

Ashley Gary is an American science communicator and co-organizer for #BlackBirdersWeek.

References

  1. 1 2 Mock, Jillian (June 1, 2020). "'Black Birders Week' Promotes Diversity and Takes on Racism in the Outdoors". Audubon Magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  2. ↑ O'Toole, Hillarie (Fall 2020). "#BlackBirdersWeek: Listen, Learn, and Act" (PDF). The Urban Audubon. XLI: 8.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ "Coming to your screens May 31st - June 5th #BlackBirdersWeek organised by #BlackAFinSTEM". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2020-05-30. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Sloat, Sarah (2 June 2020). "Black Birders Week responds to racism with a celebration of Black naturalists". Inverse. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  5. ↑ Froelich, Paula (June 6, 2020). "Viral video of Central Park 'Karen' Amy Cooper spawns #BlackBirdersWeek". New York Post. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  6. ↑ Qaiser, Farah (June 2020). "#BlackBirdersWeek highlights Black nature enthusiasts and scientists". Massive Science. Archived from the original on 2020-06-04. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Willingham, AJ (3 June 2020). "These Black nature lovers are busting stereotypes, one cool bird at a time". CNN. Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  8. ↑ Kormann, Carolyn (19 June 2020). "Corina Newsome and the Black Birders Movement". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-07-30.
  9. ↑ "What is #BlackBirdersWeek and why does it matter". Earth Touch News Network. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  10. ↑ "BlackAFinSTEM". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2020-06-05. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  11. ↑ Kutz, Cat. "#BlackBirdersWeek: Celebrating and Encouraging Diversity in Conservation". www.smithsonianmag.com. Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-06-05. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  12. ↑ Lambert, Jonathan (June 4, 2020). "A #BlackBirdersWeek cofounder aims to amplify black nature enthusiasts". Science News. Archived from the original on 2020-06-04. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  13. ↑ International, Living on Earth / World Media Foundation / Public Radio. "Living on Earth: #BlackBirdersWeek". Living on Earth. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  14. ↑ Berman, Ali (2020-06-29). "Reflections from Black Birders Week: Birding, Racism, and Inclusion in the Outdoors". Portland Audubon. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  15. ↑ "Nicole Jackson | Bird Academy • The Cornell Lab". academy.allaboutbirds.org. 2022-03-30. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  16. ↑ Hou, Kathleen (2020-06-04). "Black Birding Is About Hope". The Cut. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  17. ↑ Thompson, Andrea. "Black Birders Call Out Racism, Say Nature Should Be For Everyone". Scientific American. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Black birders week". insidehighered.com. 5 June 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Black Birdwatchers Face Racism Too". Voice of America. 5 June 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  20. ↑ Mock, Jillian (June 1, 2020). "'Black Birders Week' Promotes Diversity and Takes on Racism in the Outdoors". Audubon Magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  21. ↑ "This is an amazing initiative. Please follow, support, and spread the word about #BlackBirdersWeek". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2020-05-29. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  22. ↑ "American Bird Conservancy is proudly supporting the inaugural #BlackBirdersWeek this week. It's not too late to follow the hashtags to celebrate and support the diversity of all those who enjoy birds". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2020-06-04. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  23. ↑ Mendenhall, Matt (2020-06-03). "#BlackBirdersWeek Aims to Raise Awareness, Grow Community". American Bird Conservancy. Archived from the original on 2020-06-13. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  24. ↑ Willingham, AJ (3 June 2020). "These Black nature lovers are busting stereotypes, one cool bird at a time". CNN. Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  25. ↑ "It's #BlackBirdersWeek and today's Q&A day!". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2020-06-02. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Black Birders Week 2021 Schedule". Black AF In STEM. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  27. ↑ "Black Birders Week | BirdNote". www.birdnote.org. 2021-05-28. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  28. ↑ "Black Birders Week 2021". Audubon. Archived from the original on 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  29. 1 2 Tamisiea, Jack (4 May 2022). "Celebrate Black Birders Week and More Natural History Programs This May". www.smithsonianmag.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  30. ↑ "Black Birders Week STEM Day 2023". National Museum of African American History and Culture. 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  31. ↑ Barndollar, Hadley (May 30, 2023). "NH marks Black Birders Week, and organizers aim to educate about lived experiences". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  32. ↑ Bayles, Tom (2024-05-28). "Black Birders Week exploring culture, community, environment". WUSF. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  33. ↑ "Fellowships - EcoLeaders". National Wildlife Federation. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  34. ↑ "#BecauseOfBlackBirdersWeek, the National Wildlife Federation is expanding its Conservation Fellowship". Twitter. Archived from the original on 2020-06-07. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  35. ↑ "Black In Neuro Week is coming to a timeline near you". The British Neuroscience Association. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  36. ↑ Mallenbaum, Carly. "#BlackBirdersWeek, #BlackInNeuro: Black scientists, physicians are using hashtags to uplift". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
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