Dr. Robert D. Bullard, “Father of Environmental Justice” Texas Southern University

Dr. Robert D. Bullard

Robert D. Bullard is the former Dean of the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University 2011-2016, he is currently Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy. Prior to coming to TSU he was founding Director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University. He has been described as the father of environmental justice. He received his Ph.D. degree from Iowa State University. He is the author of seventeen books that address sustainable development, environmental racism, urban land use, industrial facility siting, community reinvestment, housing, transportation, climate justice, emergency response, smart growth, and regional equity.

Professor Bullard was featured in the July 2007 CNN People You Should Know, Bullard: Green Issue is Black and White. In 2008, Newsweek named him one of 13 Environmental Leaders of the Century. And that same year, Co-op America honored him with its Building Economic Alternatives Award (BEA). In 2010, The Grio named him one of the “100 Black History Makers in the Making” and Planet Harmony named him one of Ten African American Green Heroes.”

His book, Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality (Westview Press, 2000), is a standard text in the environmental justice field. His most recent books include Just Sustainabilities: Development in an Unequal World (MIT Press, 2003), Highway Robbery: Transportation Racism and New Routes to Equity (South End Press, 2004), The Quest for Environmental Justice: Human Rights and the Politics of Pollution (Sierra Club Books, 2005), Growing Smarter: Achieving Livable Communities, Environmental Justice, and Regional Equity (MIT Press, 2007), and The Black Metropolis in the Twenty-First Century: Race, Power, and the Politics of Place (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007). Dr. Bullard is co-author of In the Wake of the Storm: Environment, Disaster and Race After Katrina (Russell Sage Foundation, 2006) and Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty: 1987-2007 (United Church of Christ Witness & Justice Ministries, 2007). His latest books include Race, Place and Environmental Justice After Hurricane Katrina: Struggles to Reclaim, Rebuild, and Revitalize New Orleans and the Gulf Coast (Westview Press, 2009) and Environmental Health and Racial Equity in the United States: Strategies for Building Just, Sustainable and Livable Communities (American Public Health Association Press, April, 2011). He is completing work on a new book entitled Wrong Complexion for Protection: How the Government Response to Disaster Endangers African American Communities (New York University Press, 2012). In 2014, the Sierra Club named its new Environmental Justice Award after Dr. Bullard. And in 2015, the Iowa State University Alumni Association named him its Alumni Merit Award recipient—an award also given to George Washington Carver (1894 ISU alum) in 1937.


Panel Information

Thursday, September 2

2:40 PM EST

Cafecito-Building Back Better: Time for Climate Action

The impacts of climate change continue to harm, displace, and create instability in our communities and the time for action is now. As we move forward into a new era after COVID-19, how can governments, businesses and community leaders build resilient and sustainable communities. What is the current situation of the global fight against climate change and the needed action to achieve a net zero economy. Join in on the conversation where will discuss initiatives, bills, and solutions on how to ensure that the Latino community is not left behind. Taking action on climate change now will give us the opportunity to build a better future for our communities and environment! Join us in the Building Back Better: Time for Climate Action panel as a part of our Virtual Summit along with young activists, business leaders, and elected officials.

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