ORTWS Statement on Black Lives Matter

The Oregon Chapter of The Wildlife Society Stands with Black Communities in Oregon and Across America

As the country convulsed in waves of protests over the past two weeks following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, like many of us, I was struck by a flood of emotion. My initial horror and grief at witnessing the ghastly sight of another black man dying under the knee of a police officer was replaced quickly by anger, and eventually resolve. Fueling these emotions were the subsequent revelations about Breonna Taylor, a first responder killed by police in her Louisville home in March, the news about Christian Cooper, who was simply trying to enjoy bird-watching in Central Park while black, as well as the litany of similar cases of police brutality, overt racism, and every day slights suffered by Black Americans at the hands of their white countrymen and women. Sadly, the early response to the protests did little to alleviate my initial feelings and only strengthened my resolve, as protesters were gassed and beaten by police, and political leaders threatened military intervention in American cities.

For Black Americans, the feelings that are finally making it into the consciousness of white communities across the country are all too familiar: they are a part of their very existence as Black citizens in a country built on and by enslaved Africans. Indeed, it was just last summer when the 400th anniversary of the first slave ship landing in Virginia was marked1; for Black Americans, the legacy of that landing and all that it brought continues to this day. The current COVID-19 pandemic exemplifies this perfectly: Black Americans are dying of the disease at three times the rate of whites2 and hospitalizations of Black Americans are double what they should be according to demographics3. The reasons for this are manifold, including lack of access to healthcare, work circumstances, and household dynamics, but they enjoy one commonality: they are the result of systemic and entrenched racism in America.

Our profession and the outdoors many of us love so dearly are not free from racism either. Madison Grant, the well-known wildlife zoologist, contributor to the founding of the Bronx Zoo (i.e., Wildlife Conservation Society), and friend of Teddy Roosevelt, was an undeniable white supremacist4. Even venerated wildlife and conservation celebrities, like Roosevelt, Pinchot, and Leopold, expressed racist views5. This legacy continues in federal agencies; Black representation is actually declining across much of the government6, and while the recent appointment of Aurelia Skipworth to lead the USFWS7 was cause for celebration, Black Americans and other minorities are still significantly underrepresented in the USFWS, USFS and BLM. Similarly, Black Americans, and indeed all people of color, are underrepresented in wildlife and natural resource programs at universities around the country8, both in student bodies, as well as faculty and staff. While much has been written on this issue, it is important to recognize that much can be done within our own spheres of influence.  

This is a personal issue for me. Like the vast majority of Oregonians, I am white, but my wife and daughters are black. While we live in Corvallis –  a progressive, inclusive and affluent community – we live in a state founded in part on the premises of white supremacy9. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Oregon is only 2.2% Black10, and many rural communities in our state completely lack Black households. However, I was heartened to see Oregonians around the state take to the street this past weekend11 to join with protesters across the country. Indeed, as white Oregonians displayed solidarity in communities as disparate as Portland and Eugene, Pendleton and Coquille, it made me realize how important it is to add my voice to the groundswell we are now witnessing, and to offer resources for those of us that may not know how best to grapple with this complex challenge. And as the President-Elect of the Oregon Chapter of TWS, I am lucky to work with a diverse, thoughtful, and action-oriented Board; you are lucky as well. In fact, the Oregon Chapter has previously taken steps to increase representation in our society; the Diversity Committee was created in 2017 for this explicit purpose. I recognize that this is not an easy issue to tackle. However, as scientists, I know in my heart that my fellow wildlifers will act wisely when presented with a challenging situation – after all, that is simply what we do.

The President of the Western Section of The Wildlife Society, Kelly Holland, with the help of the Western Section Board, wrote and distributed a powerful message last Friday. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, you can find it here. Perhaps one of the most meaningful statements in Kelly’s message was this: “To be silent is to be complicit.” Now is the time that we, as wildlife professionals, must think, speak, and act collectively to make permanent and lasting change in this country. In line with the statement from our Western Section friends and colleagues, as the Board of Oregon Chapter of The Wildlife Society, we assert:

  • Black lives have always mattered, and always will
  • That not only do Black lives matter, Black lives are impactful, meaningful, and an irreplaceable part of American culture and identity
  • America is indelibly marked by entrenched and systemic racism
  • Police brutality is a structural and institutional problem that must be condemned and corrected
  • There is much we can do to help create a more free, equal, and welcoming culture in our communities, state, profession, and within our professional society
  • That we will not be silent or complicit in perpetuating racism or inequality
  • That we will work collectively and continuously to support, encourage, recruit, and retain Black Americans, indigenous Americans, and other people of color in our profession and within our professional society and we will work to dismantle any practices that create barriers for engagement and advancement 
  • That we will provide an open and honest forum to discuss the hurdles that we all must face to overcome these challenges and commit to discourse that recognizes and affirms the humanity of minorities
  • That we commit to bettering ourselves and our culture to be true allies for Black Americans and all people of color

I would like to make one final point about this issue before offering a variety of resources for those who would like to act with us. This idea was framed exceptionally well by Robin DiAngelo in her book White Fragility12 in 2018, and was summarized in a must-read piece by Jonathan Capehart in the Washington Post last week13. Simply put, the reason why so many white people have such a difficult time talking about and acting on racism in America is because we view it simply as a problem that occurs on the individual level, with individual, racist people, rather than as product of a multi-faceted societal system that prioritizes white people and white culture. 

This is not an easy issue to confront. For many of us, discussing race and racism in America makes us deeply uncomfortable. However, imagine what it must feel like to be the target of racism and racist acts, for generations, for 400 years. If our discomfort, our stops and starts, our best efforts that occasionally go awry are what it takes to make change, then quite honestly, we can suffer some discomfort, we can suffer some setbacks, but we must act. The resources below will help shed light on this system and provide ways to act for lasting change.

 

Resources

Reading

Organizations and Groups

Please do not hesitate to contact me or other members of our board directly if you have any thoughts or ideas about how we can work together to address these issues. Please also consider joining the ORTWS Diversity Committee by emailing diversity@ortws.org

We urge you to act with us. 

Sincerely,

Quentin Hays, President-Elect, Oregon Chapter of The Wildlife Society and the entire ORTWS Executive Board