Christian Cooper, A Black man who was harassed in Central Park for birdwatching, has a new show on National Geographic dedicated to watching birds.
Christian Cooper was falsely accused of menacing behavior by a white woman in New York City’s Central Park in May 2020.
Cooper, a lifelong birdwatcher, will host a series called “Extraordinary Birder,” the channel announced this week. According to National Geographic, the series will delve viewers into 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,” the network said in a statement.
The channel has not announced a premiere date for the show.
At the age of 10, Cooper began his love for birdwatching, he said in an interview with The New York Times. He added that he “was all in” nearly a year and a half ago when the National Geographic approached him about the possibility of a show.
“I love spreading the gospel of birding,” he said in the Times interview.
In May 2020, Cooper became the center of attention when a white woman, Amy Cooper (no relation), called the police on the 59-year-old and claimed he threatened her and her pooch.
Christian Cooper recorded the video that shows Amy Cooper calling the police on him and telling 911 dispatchers, “I’m in the Ramble. And there is a man, African American — he has a bicycle helmet. He’s recording me and threatening me and my dog.”
Amy Cooper was eventually charged with a third-degree misdemeanor, but due to her lack of a criminal record, the charge was dropped.
After Amy Cooper completed five restorative justice sessions, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges.
Lifelong birder Christian Cooper (@blackburniannyc) will take us into the wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds in his new show, The Extraordinary Birder. pic.twitter.com/2ZwTlZ3JmN
— National Geographic TV (@NatGeoTV) May 16, 2022