Black Birders Week 2026 takes flight May 24 with an inspiring theme

Black Birders Week, the national push to encourage Black people to stake their space in nature, science, and public green spaces, will take place again this year from May 24 through May 30.

- By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Roslyn Rivas (pink shirt standing on the left) leading a bird walk by the East River at Marsha P. Johnson State Park in Brooklyn, New York City.

Black Birders Week 2026 is organized nationally by Black AF In STEM. In New York City, the NYC Bird Alliance is one of the major local organizations hosting free events in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx. Black AF In STEM identifies Black Birders Week as one of its signature initiatives; the week is fiscally sponsored by the equity-in-education nonprofit Amplify the Future.

The annual event was launched in late spring 2020 in response to the notorious attempt by a white woman named Amy Cooper to sic the NYPD on Black birder Christian Cooper after he asked her to leash her dog in Central Park. Black AF In STEM and its partner organizations say the week was created because Black birders, scientists, and naturalists have also been periodically threatened while simply trying to enjoy nature and realized that something positive had to be done to counter this.

Everyone should feel welcome in green spaces, and that is a major reason NYC Bird Alliance supports Black Birders Week, says Tasha Naula, the group's public programs manager.

“We host over 300 programs in all five boroughs throughout the year, and we do so in smaller community parks. But I think part of our public programs’ mission,” said Naula, “which is one of our core values, is to make sure they're as accessible as possible for all New Yorkers.”