Bird Watchers Promise to Become a More Welcoming Group
2021-07-24
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1In 1896, many birds were killed so women of high social standing in the United States could wear hats made with their feathers.
2Two women, Minna Hall and Harriet Hemenway of Boston, Massachusetts, asked their friends to help stop the practice.
3They chose to name their group, the Massachusetts Audubon Society, after John James Audubon, a naturalist famous for his paintings of American birds.
4Now, 125 years after its founding, the organization along with nearly 500 Audubon Society chapters faces a problem with another side of Audubon's life:
5He owned enslaved people and opposed freeing them.
6In the year since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, Audubon chapters have promised to do more to correct the wrongs of the past.
7The groups are employing people from different racial groups and finding ways to make natural spaces more welcoming to people of color.
8It is part of a broader change within the wider environmental movement.
9There has been criticism of the movement for years because of its racist beginnings and lack of diversity.
10Last autumn, Mass Audubon published a document recognizing how Audubon's family wealth came in large part from running a Caribbean sugar farm.
11It has also promised to have people of color make up 25 percent of its leadership committee and hopes to open more wildlife refuges in communities of color.
12The National Audubon Society, which is based in New York, has similarly looked into its history in a series of writings.
13And the Sierra Club publicly apologized last July for the racist views of its founder, John Muir. Muir had called American Indians "dirty savages."
14The group has also promised to spend $5 million to increase its environmental justice work.
15Recently, the Sierra Club said it supports repayments to Blacks for the damage caused by slavery.
16Debbie Njai founded the outdoor group BlackPeopleWhoHike.
17"At this point, if people are not part of what they're trying to protect, that's an issue," she said.
18David O'Neill is president of Mass Audubon.
19He agreed, "If we don't get younger and we don't get more diverse, we're not going to have people to advocate on behalf of nature, and that's not good for anyone."
20Green 2.0 is a Washington, DC-based group that puts out a yearly report on diversity in the environment.
21It reports that the nation's largest environmental groups added, on average, six people of color to their workforce, and only three to their leadership between 2017 and 2020.
22Andres Jimenez is head of Green 2.0.
23He said green organizations appear to be making progress on improving staff diversity, but their leadership remains mostly white.
24More change is needed at the top of the organizations, he added.
25Another movement for change -- Bird Names for Birds -- is to stop using names of birds that honor slaveholders and white supremacists.
26That effort started last summer after an argument between a Black birdwatcher and a white woman with her dog in New York's Central Park.
27The video of the event was widely seen, producing #BlackBirdersWeek and other similar efforts to show that Black nature enthusiasts face discrimination and other dangers in the outdoors.
28Christian Cooper, the birdwatcher, is also a leading member of the New York City Audubon Society.
29He said his chapter has been trying to draw more diverse members through small events like last month's Juneteenth birdwatching and picnic.
30"The organizations that are having the most success are those that are trying new things," Cooper said.
31He added that fixing hundreds of years of unfair treatment is "hard and uncomfortable work."
32Back at Mass Audubon, O'Neill says the organization has added new members so that 17 percent of them are people of color.
33Its workforce of more than 950 is now about 65 percent white.
34I'm Jill Robbins.
1In 1896, many birds were killed so women of high social standing in the United States could wear hats made with their feathers. 2Two women, Minna Hall and Harriet Hemenway of Boston, Massachusetts, asked their friends to help stop the practice. They chose to name their group, the Massachusetts Audubon Society, after John James Audubon, a naturalist famous for his paintings of American birds. 3Now, 125 years after its founding, the organization along with nearly 500 Audubon Society chapters faces a problem with another side of Audubon's life: He owned enslaved people and opposed freeing them. 4Changes in the environmental movement 5In the year since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, Audubon chapters have promised to do more to correct the wrongs of the past. The groups are employing people from different racial groups and finding ways to make natural spaces more welcoming to people of color. 6It is part of a broader change within the wider environmental movement. There has been criticism of the movement for years because of its racist beginnings and lack of diversity. 7Last autumn, Mass Audubon published a document recognizing how Audubon's family wealth came in large part from running a Caribbean sugar farm. It has also promised to have people of color make up 25 percent of its leadership committee and hopes to open more wildlife refuges in communities of color. The National Audubon Society, which is based in New York, has similarly looked into its history in a series of writings. 8And the Sierra Club publicly apologized last July for the racist views of its founder, John Muir. Muir had called American Indians "dirty savages." 9The group has also promised to spend $5 million to increase its environmental justice work. Recently, the Sierra Club said it supports repayments to Blacks for the damage caused by slavery. 10Debbie Njai founded the outdoor group BlackPeopleWhoHike. "At this point, if people are not part of what they're trying to protect, that's an issue," she said. 11David O'Neill is president of Mass Audubon. He agreed, "If we don't get younger and we don't get more diverse, we're not going to have people to advocate on behalf of nature, and that's not good for anyone." 12Green 2.0 is a Washington, DC-based group that puts out a yearly report on diversity in the environment. It reports that the nation's largest environmental groups added, on average, six people of color to their workforce, and only three to their leadership between 2017 and 2020. 13Andres Jimenez is head of Green 2.0. He said green organizations appear to be making progress on improving staff diversity, but their leadership remains mostly white. More change is needed at the top of the organizations, he added. 14Changing bird names 15Another movement for change -- Bird Names for Birds -- is to stop using names of birds that honor slaveholders and white supremacists. 16That effort started last summer after an argument between a Black birdwatcher and a white woman with her dog in New York's Central Park. The video of the event was widely seen, producing #BlackBirdersWeek and other similar efforts to show that Black nature enthusiasts face discrimination and other dangers in the outdoors. 17Christian Cooper, the birdwatcher, is also a leading member of the New York City Audubon Society. He said his chapter has been trying to draw more diverse members through small events like last month's Juneteenth birdwatching and picnic. 18"The organizations that are having the most success are those that are trying new things," Cooper said. He added that fixing hundreds of years of unfair treatment is "hard and uncomfortable work." 19Back at Mass Audubon, O'Neill says the organization has added new members so that 17 percent of them are people of color. Its workforce of more than 950 is now about 65 percent white. 20I'm Jill Robbins. 21Philip Marcelo wrote this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 22_____________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24feather - n. any one of the light growths that make up the outer covering of the body of a bird 25chapter - n. the people in a certain area who make up one section of a large organization 26diversity - n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization 27savage - n. old-fashioned + offensive. a person who has a way of life that is simple and not highly advanced 28advocate - v. to support or argue for (a cause, policy, or such.) 29picnic - n. a meal that is eaten outdoors especially during a trip away from home 30What do you think of the recent social justice actions by environmental organizations? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.