Dr. Robert D. Bullard is widely recognized as the father of environmental justice, and one of the most prominent environmental activists of the last century. Bullard began examining systemic environmental injustices in the late 1970’s after noticing that every landfill in Houston was located in predominantly black neighborhoods, despite African Americans only accounting for 25% of the city’s population. Since then, Bullard has gone on to publish a wide variety of books addressing environmental issues, serve as a Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University, and even contribute towards Bill Clinton’s 1991 Executive Order ensuring that all federal agencies include environmental justice as part of their overall missions. This Black History Month, we congratulate and sincerely thank Bullard for his significant contributions towards a more environmentally equitable future.
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This blog post was written by Clarisse Goetzen, an ACE Student Fellow at the University of California – Davis. Clarisse’s work at ACE focuses on environmental policy.
