Freedom Birders is a racial justice education project built on inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and #BlackBirdersWeek 2020. Founded by Tykee James and Jeffrey Train, the duo seeks to engage the birding community and anyone else in the following ways:
Phase I
Provide virtual audiences with comprehensive conversations on racial justice curriculum and bird education. We are determined to expand our impact by growing our email list to 2,000 subscribers, including at least 10 contacts from DC, MD, VA, NC, SC, TN, GA, FL, AL, AR, and LA. By accomplishing this, we will obtain the necessary support for our project and ensure that our valuable content reaches a wider audience.
Phase II
Organize a multi-day, multi-state birding event that follows the path of the Freedom Rides from Washington, D.C. to New Orleans, LA, showcasing the concept of Freedom Birding.
Phase III
Create a manual for organizing campaigns for outdoor enthusiasts and educators, drawing inspiration and lessons from the Civil Rights movement, Black Birders Week, and the 1619 project.
With stories of resistance, pride, and inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement and specifically the Freedom Rides of 1961.
After the two came together to address “no go zones” for birders, particularly reflecting on #BlackBirdersWeek conservations in the Southern region of the United States where the Civil War and Civil Rights history are EVERYWHERE..
With Freedom Birders they hope to bring together a cross-class, cross-race, gender-diverse, intergenerational group of people who share a vision of social justice in the birding community and want to apply their time, talent, and resources to support and lead campaigns for social change.
Put simply, change the way birding is done.
Jeffrey Train
Jeffrey Train is the founder of Mr. Train’s Life Lessons for Better Birding & Beyond: a curriculum-driven program seeking to inspire families and young naturalists to discover the wonder of birds. Mr. Train welcomes viewers into his world of wonder by introducing them to the birds inhabiting his neighborhood (Hoboken, NJ). Through lessons combining nature’s mysteries and positive psychology practices, Mr. Train empowers people to discover the joy and gratitude surrounding their communities. Learn more from Mr. Train at: mrtrain.org, or check out his lessons on Youtube at Better Birding & Beyond.
Jeffrey Train holds an MA in School Counseling and a BA in Philosophy & English. He has taught, mentored, counseled, and coached for more than two decades and is a trained racial equity facilitator. As a co-chairperson of an educational anti-racism professional development committee, he has helped to plan, implement, and lead anti-racism workshops. Relying on his skills from his degree in counseling, he has facilitated a myriad of discussions with teens and adults on related topics.
Jeffrey is an avid birder who has led multiple bird and nature walks in Central Park, Hoboken, and Northern NJ. He is a community organizer who initiated and spearheaded campaigns in his home city of Hoboken, NJ, including the legislation banning the use of single-use plastic bags, the first such legislation in the state of NJ. He also organized the city’s storm drain mural competition.
Jeffrey is an award-winning educator. He is a Princeton University Distinguished Secondary School Teacher Finalist, a nominee for the NJ Teacher of the Year Governor’s Award, a fellow at the Academy for Teachers, and he is the winner of the Bergen County Audubon Society’s Dick Engsberg Teacher Appreciation Award.
Tykee James
Tykee James is an accomplished Co-Chair of Amplify the Future Inc. and an active member of several boards of directors. He is based in Washington, D.C., and is passionate about organizing bird walks for members of Congress and their staff. Tykee’s dedication to this work stems from his previous experience as an environmental educator and community organizer in his hometown of Philadelphia. He has also served as an environmental policy advisor for a State Representative and as a campaign field director for a friend who ran for state office. Tykee is committed to developing his leadership skills and is a member of the Environmental Leadership Program and the Green Leadership Trust.
Based in DC he is grounded through his work to organize bird walks with members of Congress and congressional staff! Tykee has built residency in this work from his experience in Philadelphia, his hometown. His first job was an environmental educator and community organizer in his own neighborhood. Tykee would also serve as an environmental policy advisory for a State Representative and a campaign field director for a friend that ran for state office. He continues to develop himself as a leader through his membership in the Environmental Leadership Program and the Green Leadership Trust.
Tykee has been part of the birding community for almost a decade. Some of his highlights include earning international recognition as one of the organizers of the first #BlackBirdersWeek in 2020 and being featured on Extraordinary Birder with Christain Cooper.
In his personal time, he supports wildlife media, loves cooking, and has been known to dance salsa and batacha from time to time.
