Wednesday, May 27, 2020

The realities of being a black birdwatcher


(CNN)Dudley Edmondson has long had to deal with people calling the police on him while out in nature.
As a black birdwatcher and professional nature photographer, his presence with a camera can arouse suspicion among white people. He has had people accuse him of being drunk, or on drugs, or taking photos of people's homes in order to come back later and rob them.
He's been accused of "a number of things that I'm guessing in their minds fits more the description of what an African American male would be doing, as opposed to photographing nature, as opposed to watching birds," he told CNN.
Edmondson spoke to CNN about racism in the wilderness in the wake of Christian Cooper's experience in Central Park on Monday morning, when a minor dispute over an unleashed dog led a white woman to call police and falsely claim "an African American man is threatening my life."

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