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Local Audubon Group Picks New Name, Seeking Distance From Racist Namesake

Jacob Fenston | https://twitter.com/JacobFenston



John James Audubon.

Library of Congress

The word “Audubon” has long connoted birds, nature, and conservation. But in recent years, there’s been more attention to the man behind the name – John James Audubon – and his racist views and actions.

Now, the local nonprofit formerly known as the Audubon Naturalist Society has a new name: Nature Forward. Lisa Alexander, the group’s executive director, says Audubon, a lauded 19th century ornithologist and artist, was also an enslaver and a published white supremacist.

“That just didn’t seem like the kind of welcome we wanted to give to all people in our region,” Alexander says.

The organization, based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, announced a year ago it would change its name, though discussions about the problematic aspects of the name started more than a decade ago. The new name was revealed late last week.

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