Bird Society Cuts Audubon From Name Over Uptowner's Slavery Legacy

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — NYC Audubon, one of the largest birding and conservation groups in the city, will remove Audubon from its name due to concerns over the former Upper Manhattan resident's "harmful and offensive" views and actions toward people of color and Indigenous people.

John James Audubon, a naturalist and wildlife painter, lived along the Hudson River in the 1840s in what is now Washington Heights. Specifically, he resided within 14 acres of woodland near West 155th Street.

His name is still incredibly prominent uptown.

Most notably with the Audubon Avenue name, which stretches through Washington Heights from West 165th to 193rd streets. His name also appears in the community within the Audubon Park Historic District from 155th to 158th streets, and the Audubon Playground at West 170th Street.

Audubon's name will no longer represent the NYC chapter of the birding organization, though.

"After a rigorous assessment, New York City Audubon’s Board of Directors voted on March 20, 2023 to change the organization’s name, dropping 'Audubon' and beginning a process to develop a new name that represents what we do, embodies our organizational values, and is inclusive and welcoming to all New Yorkers," the birding organization wrote in a message posted to its website this week.

The New York City chapter's announcement came a week after the National Audubon Society decided that it would keep its name, and that "the organization transcends one person's name," as first reported by the New York Times.

The NYC chapter disagreed.

"While we value John James Audubon’s contributions to art and ornithology, and the foundation he laid for an appreciation of nature and a conservation ethos in this country, we recognize that his views and actions towards people of color and Indigenous people were harmful and offensive—and that the harm continues today, presenting a barrier to people who might otherwise become involved in or support our work," the NYC birding chapter wrote in its explanation of the decision to drop the Audubon name.

The National Audubon Society's website has a page dedicated to the history of its namesake that begins with the description — "A complicated history."

That description says it is "fair" to call Audubon a "genius" and "pioneer" who was the country's "dominant wildlife artist," but also that he was a "troubling character who did despicable things even by the standards of his day."

He enslaved Black people, wrote critically about emancipation, stole human remains to send to a colleague with the goal of asserting white people superiority to non-whites, and was accused of fraud and plagiarism in his work, according to the National Audubon Society.

The New York City chapter will now begin a process to develop a new name that "embodies our organizational values, and is inclusive and welcoming to all New Yorkers."