Reclamation, Radicalization and Resistance

Welcome back to the Always Be Birdin' Podcast hosted by Sam DeJarnett for Season 2!! Our first episode is revisiting the lasting affect of #BlackBirdersWeek on us as BIPOC birders over the last 5 years. Please enjoy my re-recording of the presentation I did at the Justice Outside Unite & Ignite 2025 conference in Philly back in September 2025, titled "Black Birders: The Reclamation and Radicalization of Birding As An Act of Resistance." This is my perspective on how Black leadership, specifically by Black women and femmes, within the hobby of birding and careers in conservation have paved the way for deep community connection and care while simultaneously setting the stage for resistance by dismantling and reworking “the narrative” created by racism, white supremacy and capitalism. Taking place beginning in 2020 with the “Incident in Central Park” with Christian Cooper, fueled by the murder of George Floyd by the police and shaped by Covid, Black birders created and sustained an online movement which stood alongside BlackLivesMatter and made space for Black, Indigenous and birders of color all over the country to connect, share and heal together. This is the story of how Black birders reclaimed and radicalized the hobby of birding as an act of Resistance.