Watching for birds, diversity: Audubon groups pledge change >Jamil Boykin, center, camp educator at the Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, examines wild sorrel with students Nesha Moskowitz, left, and Lyla Mendoza, right, during a hike at the sanctuary in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston in June. Audubon Society chapters are grappling with how to address their namesake’s legacy as the nation continues to reckon with its racist past. John James Audubon was a celebrated 19th century naturalist but also a slaveholder publicly opposed to abolition. AP PHOTO >Jamil Boykin, front, camp educator at Mass Audubon s Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, walks with students Giovanni Pierre, left, and Aaron Overton, right, during a hike at the sanctuary, in the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston, Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Audubon Society chapters are grappling with how to address their namesake s legacy as the nation continues to reckon with its rac
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Watching for birds, diversity: Audubon groups pledge change
Philip Marcelo
The Associated Press
BOSTON When Boston socialites Minna Hall and Harriet Hemenway sought to end the slaughter of birds in the name of 19th century high fashion, they picked a logical namesake for their cause: John James Audubon, a naturalist celebrated for his stunning watercolors of American birds.
Now, 125 years after the founding of the Massachusetts Audubon Society for the Protection of Birds, the organization and the nearly 500 Audubon chapters nationwide it helped inspire are reckoning with another side of Audubon s life: He was also a slaveholder and staunch opponent of abolition.
New-york
United-states
Boston
Massachusetts
Illinois
Virginia
Washington
American
Harriet-hemenway
Christian-cooper
John-james-audubon
Philip-marcelo