Credit: University of Michigan School for Environment & Sustainability
Robert Doyle Bullard is an American academic, environmental activist, a leading campaigner against environmental racism, regarded as the father of environmental justice. He has written several books on the subject and is known for speaking up against environmental racism. His first book ‘Dumping in Dixie’ describes how polluting companies are moved close to Black communities exposing them to higher-than-average levels of pollutants, compromising their health and well-being for generations.
Through his research and advocacy, he has served as a catalyst of environmental justice drawing the attention of decision-makers to the need for economic and political systems that ensure people irrespective of their race live in healthy and safe communities. He has taught at several American universities. He established the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University. In 2018, he was named one of Newsweek’s thirteen “Environmental Leaders of the Century,” and in 2020, he was awarded the UN’s highest environmental honour as a ‘Champion of the Earth’.