I am a hiker and a wilderness lover, and I often enough go walking in
different Audubon Society preserves. One day I went to one of the
visitors' centers, and said quite innocently, "How nice to have
something so popular in the USA based on the work of a Haitian."
The woman in charge said, "HUH? Audubon wasn't Haitian, why would you
say a thing like that?"
I said, "Yes he was too, he was born in Les Cayes, the same place
cayenne pepper comes from!"
"Well," she huffed, "He wasn't really Haitian, after all."
"How do you figure?", I asked.
"Because," she replied furiously, "HE was WHITE. And I don't
appreciate you trying to say he was Haitian."
There's still a long way to go, apparently. You can email them at
education@
audubon.org .
Peace and love,
Mambo Racine