Chesapeake conservationists — many of us know that when we gather in meetings or within our organizations there is a predominant demographic. We often talk about how a particular gathering is not reflective of the face of our region.
So what an inspirational bit of magic it was to see the reverse of that celebrated across the nation and beyond during #BlackBirdersWeek. The statistics above give a glimpse of the engagement of tens of thousands of people.
But if you want an impression of the inner value, scroll through the new Twitter feed #BecauseOfBlackBirdersWeek. People of color speak of how affirming, inspiring, comforting it is to feel part of a broader community of black birders, scientists, and conservationists.
Take a look at at just a snippet of posts below.
How often are we sitting in meetings that look like this inspiring #AskABlackBirder Zoom conversation that happened last week? Not often enough. You can still view it here.
It’s worth all of us learning more about the success of BlackBirdersWeek and the motivation behind it, regardless of whether we are birders. There are lots of ways to find out more, including reading an interview with Corina Newsome (pictured below), one of the week’s co-organizers.
Checking in on BlackBirdersWeek even after the fact can only leave one feeling inspired. And that’s really what Monday Magic posts are intended to do — remind us of reasons we work together conserve the Chesapeake watershed and motivate us to do more. Doing more includes reasserting and acting on a commitment to a diverse and inclusive community of conservationists.
