Changing the culture of birding.
Good trouble. Good birding. Birding for Racial Justice
What Inspired us:
Get in good trouble, necessary trouble” – John Lewis
Freedom Birders is a movement that seeks to change the culture of bird watching in the United States by developing a racial justice curriculum and bird education project resourced by the lessons and inspiration of the Civil Rights Movement, the Freedom Riders, the Black Lives Matter Movement, the 1619 Project the Always Be Birdin Podcast, and Black Birders Week 2020.
The Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a struggle for social justice between the 1950s and 1960s for Black Americans to gain equal rights in the United States. Even though the result of the Civil War had officially abolished slavery, the discrimination against African descent Americans did not end.
The Freedom Riders
Freedom Riders were a group of civil rights activists who rode interstate buses from the North into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and the subsequent years. The aim behind those rides was to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions, which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. The freedom riders were injured, burned, and put in jail, but they decided to reply by singing .
The Black Lives Matter Movement
Black Lives Matter, or BLM, is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to show the world the racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by people of African descent through testimonials and activist walks.
The 1619 Project
The 1619 Project was developed by Nikole Hannah-Jones, a writer from The New York Times, which aims to reframe the country's history. The writer would like to place the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the center of United States history.
Always Be Birdin Podcast
Birds are extremely awesome. But birding can be intimidating and difficult. Always Be Birdin' aims to change the narrative of birding. How we bird, where we bird and who is birding. Join host Samantha DeJarnett as she goes out into the field with BIPOC birding experts, novice baby birders like myself and nature enthusiasts to do some chaotic, goofy birding while dropping a knowledge bomb or two to show that no matter what, you can Always Be Birdin'.
Black Birders Week 2020
Black Birders Week includes a series of online and offline events to showcase nature enthusiasts of African descent and to increase their visibility. It is also a moment to denounce and let people know about the unique challenges and dangers black people face when engaging in outdoor activities.
Going to the no go zones of today to help build better tomorrow.
Who we are:
B.I.R.D
Founded by Tykee James and Jeffrey Train in January 2020, together they have created a self-guided virtual activity referred to as the “Freedom Birdhouse” that explores the roots of their shared inspiration and highlights the connection of the movement of people, observation of birds, and the recognition of land.
By facilitating grounding conversations from the curated educational resources in the Freedom Birdhouse, these Freedom Birders promote culturally responsive lessons that encourage youth and adults to be beginner-minded, practice inclusion, recognize the history of the land they share with birds, and act deliberately on their values.
Where we are going:
Phase 1 goal:
Keep providing racial justice curriculum and bird education through facilitated conversations to virtual audiences and build support of the project by growing our current contacts in our list serve to 2000 people with at least 20 genuine connections from DC, MD, VA, NC, SC, TN, GA, GL, AL, AR, and LA before May 4th, 2022.
Phase 2 goal:
Demonstrate Freedom Birding through the organization of a multi-day, multi-state birding event that follows a similar path to the Freedom Rides from D.C. to New Orleans.
Phase 3 goal:
Establish a training academy to train outdoor enthusists to be community organgizers who deeply understand how to use issue based campaigns to make meaningful differences in people's lives.
What we are aiming for is:
We want this to be a shared area where people can share stories and read from others. Just like the various activist we learned about earlier got out of their comfort zone, we should get out of ours and learn about the cultural and historical areas while just birding.
D.C.
D.C. . Click to expand.
Birding: Anacostia River Keeper: Connecting Land, River, and Sky
Maryland
Maryland. Click to expand.
Birding: Birding with Tubman Tours, Kayaking on slave made canal
Viriginia
Viriginia. Click to expand.
Birding: Fort Monore Monument; Great Dismal NWR, Back Bay NWR;
D.C.
Birding: Anacostia River Keeper: Connecting Land, River, and Sky
Learning: Reflecting on the Great Migration; Greyhound Station, start of the Freedom Rides; Center of gravity for many national civil rights groups
Maryland
Birding: Birding with Tubman Tours, Kayaking on slave made canal
Eating: Crabs
Viriginia
Birding: Fort Monore Monument; Great Dismal NWR, Back Bay NWR;
Learning: Hampton, Point Comfort via 1619 Project; The capital of the confederacy;
Eating: West African Traditions lasting the test of time and struggle in the "New World"
How you can help: #JustBirding
We are fundraising to promote our values as birders and build strong relationships so they can fund an inspired trip of the Freedom Rides - from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans!
You can help our project grow by telling us how and why you are committed to B.I.R.D. for justice and freedom. Your story will contribute to the historic movement of people, observation of wildlife, and the ongoing story land. Feel free to utilize this toolkit for our mission related language.
Freedom Birders #JustBirding Experiences
Each diamond represents a #JustBirding story submitted by a Freedom Birder. Submit your story today! You can help this work grow by donating to Amplify the Future , the parent organization of the Freedom Birders project.
Freedom Birding is my second spark, and I want to share it with everyone! - Tykee James
