A few comments on our current cultural moment, through the lens of birding. The post �A free bird�dares to claim the sky� appeared first on WeeklyBirder.
A few comments on our current cultural moment, through the lens of birding.
It�s been great to see all of the recent support for Black birders, following #BlackBirdersWeek! Indeed, there has been quite a jump in birding popularity in general during the COVID-19 pandemic. And with Christian Cooper shining a light on racism against Black birders, many (White) people have awoken to this serious issue.
Audubon published a good article: �5 Key Lessons to Take Home from the First #BlackBirdersWeek.� And here�s a very short piece on some of what this has meant for Black birders. It notes, �For the African American community, birds have represented an allegory for freedom and hope.�
Joshua Walker also argues that it�s critically important that Black people should take up space outdoors. The rest of us have to help to make it safe to do so.
Reading a few compelling articles or sharing a few quippy Instaquotes isn�t going to change anything. Neither are �Blackout days� that, let�s be honest, just give most White people a day off, instead of taking the day to productively lift up Black voices inside or outside the birding world. As Chad Sanders recently put it in NYT: �I don�t need �love� texts from my White friends. I need them to fight anti-blackness.�
We all have to protest, donate (money, time, effort), and talk to others about anti-racism. In other words, do something. If the last few weeks have shown us one thing, it�s that being a good, caring member of any community requires action, not complacence.
A lot of the recent focus has been on the U.S. But Canadians need to take a hard look too. If you�re like me and statistics will help you to see clearly some of the problems in our own country, check out Canada�s Black Population: Education, Labour, and Resilience from stats Canada.
As a long-time educator, I found this chart (one of many in the report) particularly heartbreaking
If you want to learn about how to be an anti-racist accomplice and not simply an ally, check out WhiteAccomplices.org. Need to talk about it with someone who knows what it�s like? You can at least do so virtually with an episode of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man.
The first episode of �Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man� with Emmanuel AchoAnd if you�re not sure what to do to help in Canada, I�ve included some favourite charities below that focus on Black Canadian and/or Indigenous rights, health, education, and advocacy in general (just a few of many). There�s a donate option on every page.
Harriet Tubman Community Organization
Women�s Health in Women�s Hands
Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society
Other Indigenous charities in Canada
Please share other charities in the comments, and say what you�re going to do to fight racism where you live!
And finally: I dare you not to be moved by Maya Angelou reading her famous poem, �Caged Bird.�
The post �A free bird�dares to claim the sky� appeared first on WeeklyBirder.
