NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The New York City Audubon Society announced plans to change its name to distance the bird conservation organization from its namesake, John James Audubon.
Audubon, a pioneering ornithologist who lived from 1785 to 1851, was a supporter of slavery and often expressed racist views on Black and indigenous people in his writings.
“We are an urban conservation organization and we need to reflect the diversity of the City and the values of the community, which we share. We feel this is the moment to do so,” said Karen Benfield, board president of NYC Audubon. "North American bird populations have dropped by nearly a third since 1970 and that is a crisis. To protect them we need wide support, as many voices as possible, and that is not served by having a name that is divisive and has such deeply negative connotations for so many, both within and outside of our organization.”
The board of directors opted to scrap the organization’s name after a year-long deliberation that included feedback from members and other stakeholders.
The conversation in New York ran parallel to similar debates in the organization at a national level and at local chapters across the country.
The national organization decided to keep Audubon’s name, but chapters in Seattle, Chicago, Washington D.C., Madison, Wisc. and Portland, Ore. have all announced intentions to drop it.
“Names may be symbolic, but symbols matter,” said NYC Audubon Executive Director Jessica Wilson. “They matter to staff, to volunteers, to members, and to the larger conservation community. We collaborate widely with our partners across the five boroughs, and want this name change to signal how much we value and seek broadly cooperative efforts to save wild birds.”
Despite the name change, the organization will still function as a local chapter of the national Audubon Society.
The New York City chapter has not yet chosen a new name, but the directors said they will consult with staff, volunteers and other supporters to find a name that suits their conservation work.
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