Full Statement of Dr. Robert D. Bullard on $50,000 Gift to Elba, AL Shiloh Community Center

"When the Urban Land Institute honored me with its 2024 Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development, I knew exactly which community land struggle needed my attention and assistance the most: Elba, Alabama's (my hometown) Black Shiloh community, struggling with flooding from a highway since 2018.  And I knew which one of my favorite community based organizations to share the prize with, the Shiloh Community Center,  a nonprofit the Bullard Center and a few of my colleagues, friends and allies from across the South helped Pastor Timothy Williams start and support in 2023, such as Steven Washington from Houston (Bullard Center), Angel Torres from Atlanta (Organization for Human Rights and Democracy) and Dr. Beverly Wright from New Orleans (Deep South Center for Environmental Justice).  Growing up in Elba, my parents and grandparents taught me some powerful lessons that I still live by today:  Never forget where you come from. Your word is your bond. Make your name stand for something good because, in the end, all you have is your name. And share your good fortune.  I make this personal gift honoring my great-grandparents, Peter and Lucinda Hammonds, who acquired 240 acres of timberland in Elba in 1875, ten years out of bondage and during Reconstruction. And I'm happy that the land is still in our family.  The story of some Shiloh home and property owners is not unlike that of my family. I am proud to be in the position today to assist, support, and help Shiloh fight to keep their inheritance, intergenerational wealth, and their history. And I am hoping and praying this small donation will inspire others, and especially Alabamians, to help them and others stem Black land loss and illegal property takings happening all across the South." 

- Dr. Robert D. Bullard, Director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University

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