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NEW YORK, N.Y. – The 2024 Earth Awards presented by Time Magazine took place Wednesday evening. Honored at this year’s ceremony were key figures in the fight against climate change. Actress Jane Fonda, sustainable fashion designer Gabriela Hearst, former Secretary of State John Kerry and grassroots organization founder Nemonte Nenquimo all received accolades for their contributions to sustainability. One pivotal name leading America’s plight toward environmental and climate justice is Dr. Robert Bullard.
Known as the “Father of Environmental Justice,” Bullard has long aided in efforts to address the disparate environmental impacts communities of color face.
Establishing Environmental Roots
Bullard first stumbled on the topic in 1979. His wife was working on Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management Corps, one of the first lawsuits to cite environmental racism. Mrs. Bullard filed a lawsuit against the city of Houston and Texas, alleging that a proposed landfill in a Black neighborhood violated the Civil Rights Act.
Dr. Robert Bullard was in the early days of his tenure at Texas Southern University and employed the help of his students. As a professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy, his students were eager to aid in the efforts. The group quickly got to work compiling land use data by mapping waste facilities in the area. What they uncovered was astonishing. Between the 1930s and 1978, the majority of Houston’s waste was sent to dumps in Black neighborhoods.
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Although the case was unsuccessful, it was instrumental for future environmental justice actions. The case helped to illustrate connections between pollution and racial segregation. Despite the lawsuit’s failure, Houston’s city council created a zoning regulation prohibiting the placement of landfills within two miles of schools.
Following his work in the courtroom, Bullard wrote Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality. This became the first book on environmental racism published in the U.S. He has since written 17 other books on the subject.
National and International Recognition
Bullard’s expertise has earned him slots on White House councils during the Clinton and Biden administrations. Currently, he is a member of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC). The board was established to raise awareness about environmental justice issues and provide recommendations to federal officials and agencies. When drafting the Inflation Reduction Act, WHEJAC requested that they redirect funding to communities disproportionately impacted by poor environmental policy.
In 2020, the United Nations recognized Bullard with the Champion of Earth Lifetime Achievement Award. “Systemic racism created these unequal, invisible communities that receive the worst of the worst,” Bullard said in a commencement video.
His work has also benefitted future TSU generations. Houston Endowment awarded the HBCU $1.25 million to establish the Dr. Robert Bullard Environmental and Climate Justice Center. The Bullard Center focuses on preparing students for the work of research, policy, advocacy and civic engagement.
Time Earth Awards Honoree
“I have a speech on teleprompter but I’m going to speak from the heart,” Bullard said during Wednesday’s ceremony. “I am a sociologist and my sociology has taught me that it is not enough to gather the data, do the science and write the books to get transformative change,” he said. “In order for us to solve this kind of crisis, we must do our science, we must gather our data, we must collect our facts, and we must marry those facts with action.”
Bullard reminisced on the 1978 case. “We established the data, facts and methodology but it was not enough to prove it in court,” he stated. “We needed to have data, and we needed to have communities that were most impacted and involved in solutions.” He goes on to say that the environment is everywhere we live, work and go to school. “We need to make sure that no community is being sacrificed.”