Black Birders Week 2024 Press Statement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

APRIL 1, 2024

Contacts:

Nicole Jackson, Dara M. Wilson, and Adé Ben-Salahuddin via blackafinstem@gmail.com.

Black Birders Week to highlight the intersections of birds, people, and environmental justice.

The fifth annual event will take place May 26-June 1, 2024.

Black Birders Week is back! This annual event celebrates Black birders, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts, highlighting their contributions to the natural world and advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the birding community. Black Birders Week 2024, our fifth year of hosting, is set to fly high from May 26th to June 1st, with this year's theme "Wings of Justice: Soaring for Change." This theme underscores our commitment to bird conservation, environmental justice, and community care. We invite everyone to join us in celebrating Black birders and advocating for more inclusive outdoor spaces."

Black Birders Week 2024 will feature a series of virtual and in-person events, including bird walks, educational content, talks, and community panel discussions. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with Black leaders and experts in the birding community, learn about local bird conservation efforts, and explore the intersection of birding, Black communities, Black culture, and environmental justice.

Nicole Jackson, Black Birders Week 2024 Planning Team Co-chair shared “As a grassroots organization, we are committed to revisiting our first year’s message, highlighting the barriers faced by the Black birding community. Environmental justice is at the core of our mission, and we believe it is essential to address the systemic inequities that impact access to and participation in birding. By acknowledging these barriers and working towards solutions, we can create a more inclusive and equitable environment for all birders.” For all members of the Planning Team, birding has been an incredible journey in many different ways, and we know this to be true for other Black birders throughout America and the diaspora. We would like to engage and share the stories of as many Black birders as we can, uplifting their connections to birds.

#BlackBirdersWeek is organized in partnership with organizations such as BirdNote, Bird Collective, Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc., and many others that we’ll share in the coming weeks.

Stay updated on Black Birders Week 2024 events and announcements by following [BlackAFInSTEM] on social media and visiting our website:

X (formerly Twitter): @BlackAFInSTEM,

Instagram: @BlackAFInSTEM,

Facebook: @BlackAFInSTEM, or

Website: www.BlackAFInSTEM.com

Email: blackafinstem@gmail.com

#BlackBirdersWeek was created in 2020 as a primarily virtual event spurred by the Central Park birding incident involving the accomplished science writer and birder Christian Cooper. The event week and The BlackAFinSTEM Collective itself was created by a small group of friends and acquaintances to normalize the historically overlooked presence of Black birders, scientists, and nature enthusiasts in the field (literally and figuratively) to make the natural sciences more inclusive, diverse, and welcoming to people of all walks of life. The Collective also aims to inspire new audiences to engage in nature and share the stories of Black conservationists from across the globe.

The BlackAFInSTEM Collective seeks to support, uplift, and amplify Black Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics professionals in natural resources and the environment through professional development, career connection, and community engagement.