In recent years, a reevaluation of United States history has led to all manner of changes, from the removal of monuments to the renaming of places and things. The Detroit Audubon is among the latest to join, saying its board of directors voted Monday to change the name of the local chapter of the national bird conservation group.
In a press release, the Detroit chapter says it made the decision after the National Audubon Society decided not to change its name. Calls to change the organization’s name have grown in recent months, considering its namesake John James Audubon had anti-abolitionist and eugenicist beliefs.
“John James Audubon did not found the organization, nor was he a conservationist,” the Detroit chapter says in a statement. “Our name should reflect our mission, our community, and our core values.”
The group says talks started in November 2022 when a proposal to change the name was presented to the board. The board says it hoped the National Audubon Society would take the lead, but in a closed-door meeting in March the national organization voted to keep it, prompting some board members to resign. In response, chapters in places like New York City, Seattle, Chicago, Portland, Washington, D.C., and others have also voted to drop the name, as has the union representing Audubon workers, which has renamed itself the “Bird Union.”
The group said the dire situation facing bird populations calls for a name that is more inclusive and can bring others to the cause.
“The work of Detroit Audubon should be represented by a name that is inclusive and reflects the community we serve,” Gretchen Abrams, the Detroit chapter’s executive director, said in a statement. “Disassociation with the name of a slave holder and anti-abolitionist is a strong start.”
For now, the group says it has not yet decided on a new name. It says it will now begin the work of seeking input from its members with the goal of changing the name by September.
It also says it will remain affiliated with the National Audubon Society.
The move follows a number of changes that have been made in Detroit as people call for monuments to racism to be torn down. The names of the former Chene Park amphitheater and the former Cobo Hall convention center have been changed, citing their namesakes’ slave-owning history and segregationist views, respectively. Work is also being done to redevelop I-375 in Detroit, whose construction led to the destruction of Detroit’s historically African-American Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods, into a new “urban boulevard.” Statues of Christopher Columbus and former Dearborn mayor Orville Hubbard have also been removed.
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