Jason Ward fell in love with birds at age 14 when he spotted a peregrine falcon outside the homeless shelter where he was staying with his family.
The now 33-year-old Atlanta bird lover parlayed that passion into a YouTube series last year. One of the guests on his first episode of Birds of North America was Christian Cooper, a black bird watcher who was targeted in New York City’s Central Park by a white woman after he told her to leash her dog.
A video capturing the encounter showed the woman, Amy Cooper (no relation), retaliate by calling the police and clearly referencing his race to raise the threat level.
Photo: AP
Ward, who is Black, said the video, even now, is “jarring” to watch. Butting heads with dog owners is common among birders but he’d never seen it take such a turn.
“Especially knowing Christian and how confident he is, hearing his nervousness and trembling, it shed light on how dangerous that situation could have been,” Ward said.
It didn’t culminate in any arrests, and Amy Cooper later issued an apology. But it has brought attention to how the great outdoors can be far from great for black people. Worries about discrimination, racial profiling and even subtle aggression keep some away. Furthermore, those fears can perpetuate the stereotype that hiking, camping and bird watching are “white” activities.
Christian Cooper’s encounter, which happened on May 25, the same day as George Floyd’s death at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer, has been cited in nationwide protests against systemic racism and white privilege. For black people, the incident was not surprising, said Carolyn Finney, author of Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors.
“Systemic racism doesn’t stop at the park gates,” Finney said. “I’ve backpacked all over the world. ... There are places in this country I would never go on my own. It is my loss. I just don’t trust the public.”
Birding can take participants to parks, woods and suburban streets. Depending on the setting, Ward said he adjusts his demeanor so he doesn’t seem threatening. He makes sure his face isn’t covered even if it’s cold. He always has his binoculars in plain sight rather than pulling them out of his bag.
“Just simple stuff like that I have to pay attention to that other people might say, ‘What? Come on dude! They’re just binoculars,’” Ward said. “If someone easily recognizes them as binoculars, it’s still a case in which I have to prove that I’m actually looking for birds occasionally.”
Mike Parr, president of the American Bird Conservancy, is white but his three sons are half-black. His youngest, who is 12, has gotten into birding. Cooper’s experience is now in the back of his mind.
“We personally haven’t come across anything like that, but as a parent, I am concerned about things that could happen to him. Birding isn’t all that well understood by people,” Parr said.
Keith Russell, 63, an urban conservation program manager for the National Audubon Society’s Philadelphia-based chapter, said as a black person, he has his guard up if he’s searching for birds with binoculars near homes. But he’s never felt unsafe among fellow birders and hopes Cooper’s close call doesn’t scare off others.
“I think it’s very very important to be clear for anyone who might not understand this and take a superficial view of this. ... It’s not dangerous to be a birder if you’re a person of color,” Russell said. But, he added: “There have been historical problems with access.”
He thinks for some black families, past discrimination and segregation at parks and other recreation sites may have set them on a path away from nature. That lack of connection to the outdoors then continues with the next generation.
“It can take a while to make that internal culture go away. I think it’s definitely starting to,” Russell said.
The misconception that most black people aren’t outdoorsy may get bolstered by history books. Finney, the author, said too often the history of US conservation centers on white figures like naturalist John Muir.
Meanwhile, less attention is paid to the hundreds of black soldiers who protected national parks after the Civil War. The same goes for Hispanic communities. Many are unaware that Hispanics have connections with public lands going back generations, said Liz Archuleta, a county board supervisor in Flagstaff, Arizona, and co-founder of Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors.
“My mother tells stories about how at least twice a month on a Saturday, the entire Hispanic pioneer community of Flagstaff used to get together and go through the forest and have picnics,” Archuleta said. “It’s foreign to me when people say we have to get Hispanics to enjoy the outdoors more.”
The shift in support toward Black Lives Matter after Floyd’s death has every corporation and nonprofit re-evaluating how they can elevate black and brown voices. In the bird-watching world, there’s already been an effort in recent years to do that.
The National Audubon Society, which was established in 1905 to preserve birds and their habitat, has 1.8 million members. Approximately 198,000 identify as people of color; only 45,000 identify as black or African American.
“Obviously, that’s not reflective of where the US population is,” said Rebeccah Sanders, senior vice president of the organization’s state programs.
The group is trying to recruit more minorities. Staff training now includes ways to intervene if someone is mistreated because of race or another trait. In the last year, they have set up chapters at dozens of colleges, including historically black ones. They also filled almost half of nearly 100 internships and fellowships with people of diverse backgrounds.
“As our staff and our membership base become more representative, it changes who you are,” Sanders said. “Those perspectives make us ask different questions and change some of our decisions.”
Environmental organizations are making universal statements that the outdoors belong to everyone but, Finney said, they have to address that it’s simply not the same for black communities.
“The National Park Service and others want to engage diverse communities and often are bringing kids in,” Finney said. “How is some black teenager going to feel about their ability to feel safe and welcome?” Since Christian Cooper’s video, several black professionals have reached out to Ward via social media to inquire about birding.
“We’re definitely getting feedback from a lot of people who are saying ‘You know what? I definitely want to get a pair of binoculars now,’” Ward said. “’I thought this was boring and for people who didn’t look like me.’”
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
In a stark demonstration of how award-winning breakthroughs can come from the most unlikely directions, researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anuses. After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure. The team is among 10 recognized in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” They are not
This Qing Dynasty trail takes hikers from renowned hot springs in the East Rift Valley, up to the top of the Coastal Mountain Range, and down to the Pacific Short vacations to eastern Taiwan often require choosing between the Rift Valley with its pineapple fields, rice paddies and broader range of amenities, or the less populated coastal route for its ocean scenery. For those who can’t decide, why not try both? The Antong Traversing Trail (安通越嶺道) provides just such an opportunity. Built 149 years ago, the trail linked up these two formerly isolated parts of the island by crossing over the Coastal Mountain Range. After decades of serving as a convenient path for local Amis, Han settlers, missionaries and smugglers, the trail fell into disuse once modern roadways were built
RSS