John was a naturalist, and many still know him today because of his beautiful watercolor paintings of birds. However, he’s also known because he bought, sold, and traded slaves through his store, so the bird sanctuary is severing ties with him and his name.
As the organization discussed the concept that birds connect everyone through various regions, habitats, and hemispheres, they decided they wanted to continue connecting people. They don’t want to do that with ties to a previous slave owner. According to Fox News, “‘Rather than a barrier, this new name represents an open door for communities to join us in our mission to advocate and organize for cities where people and birds thrive,’ Executive Director Claire Catania said in a statement Tuesday.”
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Other groups are also choosing to make a change to their names. The Chicago Audubon Society and Portland Audubon have released similar statements that they intend to remove the Audubon name.
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The Audubon name is seen in multiple societies due to his creative paintings. However, some of them are keeping the name. The nation’s leading bird conservation group is called the National Audubon Society. They went through much deliberation and then decided to keep their word. A released statement says the organization feels it’s much bigger than just one person’s name.
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Bird Connect Seattle, the new name for Seattle Audubon, says the name change is part of its mission. The organization wants to be more inclusive and reach people with more diverse backgrounds. The name, they feel, is a barrier to that. On top of changing its name, the organization plans to promote diversity when hiring employees and with advocacy work.
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