UPCOMING MEMBERSHIP VOTE IN MARCH:
SHOULD BLACK HILLS AUDUBON SOCIETY CHANGE ITS NAME?
For the last couple of years, controversy has swirled around the name and legacy of John James Audubon. John James Audubon’s ornithological work inspired the creation of the Audubon Society in 1905, fifty-four years after his death. Using his name in our national and local chapters’ titles honors that legacy. Yet scholarship has made more public the facts that Audubon was a plagiarist, slave-holder, racist, anti-Semite, and desecrator of indigenous graves. The Audubon chapter on Vashon Island, newly renamed the Vashon Bird Alliance, recently articulated this in its newsletter:
- “A tenuous balance between fact and fiction runs though Audubon’s life and work,” writes author Ella Foshay. Some examples: In England, Audubon exhibited his painting of a huge North American eagle—but no such bird exists. He falsely claimed that he discovered Lincoln’s Sparrow, although others had done so earlier. Many of the backgrounds of his paintings were done by an assistant, and Audubon erased the helper’s name. [1] Most disturbing, Audubon enslaved people. In the 1810s, he enslaved nine people, then sold them when he needed cash. Later he took two enslaved men down the Mississippi to New Orleans, where he left them after selling them. He acquired several more enslaved people during the 1820s. [2] We think this shameful legacy is reason enough to drop the Audubon name. If we fail to acknowledge the disgraces of the past and rectify them when we can, our organization will lose its own respect and undermine our commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Many other Audubon chapters throughout the country have also decided recently to change their names, so as not to be connected to Audubon’s worst self. We, the members of Black Hills Audubon Society, need to decide what our name should be.
Reasons not to change our name, Black Hills Audubon Society:
- The name Audubon is familiar to many people, who know our chapter pursues bird protection and habitat conservation.
- Black Hills Audubon Society, with that name, is familiar to people, including legislators and other officials, with whom we connect to further our mission.
- We can acknowledge Audubon’s faults and sins, normal in his time, however heinous in ours, yet still respect his ornithological work.
- Audubon chapters’ new names, diverse in Washington and throughout the country, may confuse the public. The public may no longer associate local chapters with the national organization, the National Audubon Society, of which they are a part.
Reasons to change our name:
- With its unsavory connotations, the Audubon name may turn away younger or other potential members at a time when we are trying to attract a more diverse membership.
- In 2024, many people have no or only a vague sense that the Audubon Society “has something to do with birds.” A new name may more clearly convey our mission. In addition, there is some confusion about “Black Hills.” It is not unusual to hear, “Why are you named for mountains in South Dakota?”
- Despite a name change, we would still be under the auspices of the National Audubon Society, who decided not to change its name.
- A name change is symbolic of our desire to take a stand against past and present wrongs. To change our name is the decent thing to do.
- Our chapter, despite its relatively small size, has myriad amazing accomplishments in its history. We are rightly proud of what has been done and look forward to continually building a strong, creative, and welcoming organization.
Please note that a name change would necessitate an amendment in our chapter’s by-laws, as well as money spent to refigure our website, stationery, and other products.
This autumn, the Black Hills Audubon Society Board authorized a vote by the entire membership whether to change our name. In March 2025, the entire Black Hills Audubon Society current membership will vote whether to change our name and, if so, what that name should be. These votes will be binding and secret. Before members vote, a Voter’s Guide will be posted on the website; there will be a link to it in Echo articles published during the winter. The voting procedures and wording of the vote choices are still being researched by a committee comprised of Board members and chapter members. Members will vote:
- Whether to change our name – yes or no.
- If we change our name, what new name shall we be? This will be a ranked-choice vote, with several possibilities for new names.
If you have an idea or two for a new name which states clearly and simply what our chapter does and where it is, please email your thoughts to our website 4info@nullblackhills-audubon.org.
We will continue to publish information about these votes throughout the winter. If you have questions, please use the email 4info@nullblackhills-audubon.org.
Photo credit: Urgent Heerman’s Gull, by Rachel Hudson.
Sources Cited:
[1] Mattew R. Halley, Audubon’s Bird of Washington: unravelling the fraud that launched the birds of America (Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, 2020). Halley wrote that Audubon’s diary transcripts were doctored to support his false claim of personally discovering Lincoln’s Sparrow.
[2] Gregory Nobles, John James Audubon: The Nature of the American Woodsman (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2027). Nobles is the author of www.audubon.org/news/the-myth-john-james-audubon in National Audubon, The Myth of John James Audubon.
