NYC Audubon voted earlier this month to nix the “Audubon” from its name. Born in Haiti, John James Audubon was one of America’s— self-taught—pioneer ornithologists. He was a naturalist and the author and artist of Birds of America. It’s a now-celebrated book for its 435 watercolored images of American birds. But Audubon was also a slaveholder and white supremacist. And “after a rigorous assessment,” says the organization, it’s choosing to rename.

The effort “symbolizes…inclusiveness,” executive director Jessica Wilson told Gothamist in an interview. It “invites everybody in to be a part of conservation and protecting birds.” The organization says Audubon’s views and actions were harmful and offensive. They present “a barrier to people who might otherwise become involved in or support our work.” That is, “a more sustainable city for wildlife and people.”

“What do we do about John James Audubon?” A question posed by Black author and professor of wildlife Dr. Joseph Drew Lanham. “What do we do with a racist, slave-owning birding god almost 200 years dead? And what do we do with such a man who might have been in denial of his own identity?” We, as in the National Audubon Society and its network of more than 400 affiliated chapters. New York has twenty-seven, for instance. And it’s a very well-known yet complex inquiry for bird lovers who happen to be Black or Indigenous. Who “pays memberships for discomfort?” Progress is the preferable end goal, Lanham believes.

New York City Audubon says it doesn’t have a new name yet. “We will have a robust process to identify a name,” the organization says. One “that encapsulates who we are and what we do, and that is inclusive and welcoming to all New Yorkers. We know there will be those who disagree with our decision. But we hope that our commitment to the mission and our shared joy for birds will keep us moving forward.”