Durham, NC -August 21st, 2025- Dr. Robert D. Bullard, often called the “father of environmental justice,” traveled to Durham, North Carolina to participate in a gift ceremony at the Rural Beacon Initiative, where William J. Barber III, is the Founder/CEO. Barber, a nationally recognized leader in climate justice, along with the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University each donated $25,000 to the Shiloh Community Center in Elba, Alabama to support its continued fight to get justice for residents who have faced seven years of repeated flooding from the U.S. Highway 84 expansion by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT). The flooding has damaged homes, farmland, property and family businesses, threatening both intergenerational wealth and community stability.
Barber has long served as an environmental advocate and climate scholar, specializing in what he describes as a “historic opportunity” to use green finance, technology and policy to benefit minority communities. In 2019, he founded the Rural Beacon Initiative, a social enterprise that focuses on reimagining access to renewable energy and regenerative agricultural across rural minority communities.
"The flooding in Shiloh is a stark reminder that the climate crisis is here, and it is hitting vulnerable communities first and worst. At a time when parts of our public sector are retreating from their responsibility to protect all American communities, we cannot turn away. Supporting Shiloh is not just about reacting to a crisis—it responding to a moral imperative. It is about affirming the stark realities of communities like Shiloh and ensuring they have the resources to carry forward their struggle for existence, resilience, and survival in the face of climate and environmental injustices," said Barber.
These gifts build on the momentum following a personal donation of $50,000 from Dr. Bullard. The donation was from his $100,000 2024 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. “It is really rewarding for me to see a young environmental and climate justice leader step up with their dollars in support of struggles to stem Black land loss and theft of intergenerational wealth like what’s happening in the Shiloh community in Elba, Alabama,” said Dr. Bullard. He added, “It was great to be back in North Carolina, the state that birthed the national environmental justice movement.”
On July 8, 2025, the Birmingham-based law firm Wiggins Childs Pantazis Fisher & Goldfarb filed a lawsuit on behalf of Shiloh homeowners, demanding accountability from ALDOT for the devastating property damage.
“We are delighted to see help coming to keep the fight going in the historic Shiloh community of Elba, Alabama,” said Pastor Timothy Williams. “The funds will be used to support the Center’s vital work, staff and travel as we continue to advocate for environmental and racial justice for our neighbors.”
For more information on ways to support the Shiloh community flood survivors, visit the Shiloh Community Center of Elba, Alabama website.
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Media Contact:
DeJonique G. Baptiste
Assistant Director of Communications
Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice
dejonique.baptiste@tsu.edu