Last year, many Audubon societies across the country began the process of changing the names of the organizations to no longer celebrate famed birder and unabashed racist John James Audubon. As I began to later join birding groups and various Audubon societies, I learned more about the storied history within the birding community and the ways race and racism permeate every inch of our society, even birding. Feeling like a caged bird in the house for weeks on end, nothing made me happier than to watch beautifully colored birds live their lives, flirt, squabble, steal eggs, learn to fly, build nests and just exist in a world that was changing before my eyes.
I became a birder during the lockdown portion of the pandemic.
Haiti-born American naturalist John James Audubon contributed to understanding North American birds, but we cannot ignore his views about Black and indigenous people.
