The Black Birder

Earlier last week, before the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis captured the nation's attention, the nation was preoccupied with another story of racial bias and discrimination.  African-American birdwatcher Christian Cooper was enjoying his day in Central Park when he (reasonably) informed a woman that her dog was supposed to be leashed in accordance with park rules, in part to protect the birds nesting in the area.  She responded by threatening to call the police on him for "threatening" her, a situation which could easily have had a very unhappy ending for Mr. Cooper.

Mr. Cooper's experiences were held up as yet another example of black Americans having the police called on them for just going about their daily lives.  Among the naturalist community, it also called to mind a realization - there just aren't that many black birdwatchers.  In large part for reasons like this...

Birding While Black - by J. Drew Lanham

I've earlier thought about the under-representation of African-Americans in zookeeping.  I hadn't thought about the barriers in place to even going birding.  Birdwatching is a great activity for budding citizen scientists, as well as a gateway activity for getting people interested in caring about and preserving the natural world.  It's a hobby that anyone can participate in anywhere,  even in the midst of the largest city in America.  Still, if people feel that they can't be outdoors, minding their own business, if they have to a have a reason or a "pass" to be somewhere, if just standing out on their own is enough to be construed as threatening, they won't do it - or at least won't feel safe doing it.

We should be trying to remove barriers that keep people from getting out and experiencing the natural world.  This week has been set up to celebrate black birdwatchers, to encourage and make others feel welcome to join the community.  Sharing a passion for all things feathered is not, in itself, going to make an enormous change in the racial politics of America.  But it can help make a start.