Learning while white

[lauradi7dw]

One of the instructions for white people on social media is to shut up and listen, try to learn things, don't insert yourself into conversations in which you can't speak from personal experience (I might be paraphrasing). This has been true for quite a while. What I have been doing for a couple of years is following lots of Black people on twitter (foodies, legal scholars, Star Wars fans, STEM folks, medievalists, as broad an array as possible). Reading books: history, fiction, contemporary anti-racism works. I was already following a few Black birders because of a dinosaur fandom connection, but I have added many more this week, which is #BlackBirdersWeek. Amaebi has mentioned this as well. I had donated to the Audubon Society in honor of Christian Cooper and was pleased to see him on a panel discussion yesterday about #BirdingWhileBlack. It was interesting and fun and disheartening. There was a question about panelists' favorite bird songs. There was a question about places they don't feel safe looking at birds. The suggestion for Black birder newbies include always carrying a field guide, so that residents in a birding area consider you a "birder" rather than "threatening Black stranger." The fact that you're likely to be the only Black person in a birding group, and get used to the questions you will be asked. One of the panelists said that when she missed a meeting once but her roommate attended, the friend was called by her name, because of course there must be only one young female Black birder in the area. Question about mentors. It was an hour and a half long, and we found the whole thing interesting.