How can we shape a more diverse future for birding, conservation, and the natural sciences? Join a Zoom dialog with Black birdwatchers Nicole R. Jackson, Jason L. Hall, and Douglas Eric Murphy who will address this question, share their passion for the activity and the experience and meaning of being Black in nature, and offer a preview of what’s to come for the 2021 Black Birders Week. Students from several Philadelphia schools will be invited to ask questions live. 

Black Birders Week was created by Nicole R. Jackson and other Black scientists, educators, and nature lovers last spring after a racist provocation by a dog walker against bird watcher Christian Cooper in Central Park last Memorial Day weekend, which went viral and sparked a national movement. Black Birders Week was also a response to the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless other injustices against people of color.

Now in its second year, Black Birders Week is a series of daily online events to promote diversity in bird-watching and demand a safe place of equal inclusion in nature for people of color. Each day features its own theme and Twitter hashtag, allowing participants to connect with one another, post pictures, and ask questions from anywhere in the world.  This year, Black Birders Week will be celebrated May 30 – June 5, 2021 at #BlackBirdersWeek2021