Is social justice for the birds? Audubon attempts an answer

On the same day George Floyd was murdered by a police officer on a Minneapolis street - Memorial Day, 2020 - Christian Cooper was searching for songbirds in New York City's Central Park. Cooper, who is Black, would be vaulted to fame after a run-in with a white woman who called police and falsely claimed he was threatening her when he asked her to leash her dog.

To David Yarnold, CEO of the National Audubon Society at the time, both events demanded a response. The powerful conservation group and preeminent bird enthusiasts' organization needed to weigh in, and even examine itself.

"Black lives matter," Yarnold, who is white, wrote in a letter to the society's staff after the first weekend of the George Floyd protests. "Our nation is in turmoil because our governments, our institutions (including Audubon), and private individuals haven't done nearly enough to act on...