In May 2020, Christian Cooper, a Black bird watcher, was strolling through Central Park in New York City when he ran into a white woman walking her dog off-leash. The encounter ended with the woman calling the police on Cooper, claiming falsely that he had threatened her life. Now known as the “Central Park birdwatching incident,†the event ignited a national discussion about whether Black people, and other people of color, are welcome in natural areas.
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