Source: ABC News / Getty
It’s not every day that a Black person can turn racism into opportunity, but New York bird watcher Christian Cooper appears to have done exactly that. The man who went viral after Amy “Central Park Karen” Cooper (no relation, although I wouldn’t be surprised if she called the cops to accuse a Black man of stealing her last name) tried to weaponize her white privilege against him has now been tapped by National Geographic to host the network’s six-episode docuseries titled Extraordinary Birder, which has been described as a series that chronicles Christian’s experience as he explores the “wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds.”
“Whether braving stormy seas in Alaska for puffins, trekking into rainforests in Puerto Rico for parrots, or scaling a bridge in Manhattan for a peregrine falcon, he does whatever it takes to learn about these extraordinary feathered creatures and show us the remarkable world in the sky above,” National Geographic said in a statement announcing the show.
While the series has just been announced officially, Cooper told the New York Times that National Geographic pitched the show to him about a year and a half ago and he said, “I was all in.”
“I love spreading the gospel of birding,” he said told the Times last week. He also said he was looking forward to encouraging more people “to stop and watch and listen and really start appreciating the absolutely spectacular creatures that we have among us.” (He’s talking about the bids, not the Karens in the wilds who chirp the loudest when they’re trying to use the cops as their own personal negro removers.)
It’s really great that Cooper has been able to turn racism into lemonade. Hopefully, the other Cooper is someone we never have to hear from again.
According to HuffPost, Extraordinary Birder has not been given a release date yet, but it’s expected to air on National Geographic and on the Disney + streaming app.
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