Ancient Avian Ancestors with Evan Johnson-Ransom

Join paleontologist and PhD student Evan Johnson-Ransom to learn about the roots of birds and how they help him discover the secrets of the largest predators to ever walk the Earth!

This livestream was part of a weeklong series of events that I've been involved in for a few years now called Black Birders Week, which highlights Black ornithologists, birder watchers, and nature lovers in general. Though it was originally started with birds in mind owing to the racist 2020 incident in Central Park where a Black birdwatcher had the cops called on him by a white woman, it inspired people from all sorts of STEM fields to reach out to each other and host similar event weeks. Because of Black Birders Week, I've been made aware of and able to connect with other Black folks in the paleontological fields like Evan, Cameron Muskelly ( @paleo1019 ), and Kiersten Formoso ( @FormorphologyGaming ), and this event was a great launch point for what I hope will be an eventual Black in Paleo Week or something to that effect in the not-too-far future.