They are discarding a brand name that few associate with the person John
Audubon, and certainly not with racism. . He was by modern standards, and even
perhaps by those of his time and place a flawed person, but the brand name
“Audubon” is associated with conservation, particularly bird conservation. Like
Kleenex means tissue paper, “Audubon” means conservation. Maybe it is for the
best though in that the organization has far expanded from bird conservation,
as other interests have connected to it. They did so because of the
organization's successful branding for about 125 years as a wildlife
conservation organization.
On Feb 28, 2023, at 5:49 PM, Harry Fuller <atowhee@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From Portland "Audubon":
Over the last few years, coinciding with a time of racial reckoning, the
birding community has been rethinking its relationship with the John James
Audubon name. Many know him as a wildlife artist whose illustrations helped
shape the field of ornithology. Some associate the name with fond memories of
birding trips, summer camps, and environmental advocacy from organizations
like ours. What has been dismissed, ignored, or overlooked until the last few
years by both Portland Audubon and the larger Audubon community is the fact
that John James Audubon enslaved and sold Black people, opposed the abolition
of slavery, and dug up and stole the human remains of Native Americans from
their graves.
After a great deal of discussion within our board, staff, and with other
Audubon chapters, Portland Audubon’s board voted in January to move away from
the name Audubon. In order to best achieve our mission as an organization
committed to racial equity and the environment, we cannot continue to condone
bearing a name that celebrates a slaveholder who embraced white supremacist
systems.
Portland Audubon isn’t alone in having these discussions. Already Seattle
Audubon, Madison Audubon, Chicago Audubon, and the Audubon Naturalist Society
have decided to drop the name. In addition, National Audubon Society has
spent the last year undergoing a process to examine whether they will
continue with the Audubon name.
<https://t.e2ma.net/click/nydzpk/ny1dx9o/zb4x8gb>
While National Audubon Society hasn’t made a final decision, their board is
currently discussing whether National Audubon should embark on a name change.
We strongly urge National Audubon Society’s board to do the right thing and
move forward with a collaborative renaming process.
There are more than 450 Audubon chapters across the country, including
Portland Audubon. National Audubon Society should remove the name Audubon as
this would make a strong statement toward the network’s commitment to racial
equity. It would allow the Audubon network to stay intact and help chapters
move forward together with a unified voice. If National Audubon decides not
to remove the Audubon name, Portland Audubon will begin its own collaborative
name change process, which will include input from our members, partners,
sister chapters around the state, and the larger community.
No matter what our name, our mission remains the same: to inspire people to
love and protect birds, wildlife, and the natural environment upon which life
depends. While a name change is never easy, we believe that it’s vital to our
work if we want to make sure that Portland Audubon is a place of belonging
for everyone and every community.
--
Harry Fuller
author of: San Francisco's Natural History: Sand Dunes to Streetcars:
https://ecowise.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/sfnh/ ;
<https://ecowise.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/sfnh/>
author of Great Gray Owls of CA-OR-WA:
https://ecowise.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/the-great-gray-owl-book/ ;
<https://ecowise.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/the-great-gray-owl-book/>
author of Freeway Birding: freewaybirding.com <http://freewaybirding.com/>
birding website: http://www.towhee.net ;<http://www.towhee.net/>
my birding blog: atowhee.wordpress.com <http://atowhee.wordpress.com/>
