Father of Environmental Justice Donates $50,000 to Elba, AL Shiloh Community Center

Houston, TX -July 31st, 2025- Dr. Robert D. Bullard, widely known as the “father of environmental justice,” will donate $50,000 to the Shiloh Community Center, a nonprofit leading the charge for justice and recovery in a community devastated by flooding linked to U.S. Highway 84 construction.

The funds come from Dr. Bullard’s 2024 Urban Land Institute (ULI) $100,000 Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. Dr. Bullard is allocating half of the prize to support the Shiloh Community Center’s vital work, staff, and volunteers as they continue to advocate for environmental and racial justice in Elba, Alabama.

“The story of some Shiloh home and property owners is not unlike that of my family,” said Dr. Bullard. “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.”

In July 2023, the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice committed to supporting the residents of Shiloh and other impacted areas who have endured six years of consistent flooding due to the highway project led by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT).

“I count it a blessing and honor for Dr. Robert Bullard to donate out of his own personal funds to the Shiloh Community Center to help keep the fight going against land loss in the Black Historical Shiloh Community,” said Pastor Timothy Williams, a Shiloh community activist.

Through its partnership with the HBCU-CBO Gulf Coast Equity Consortium, the Bullard Center helped build the capacity of the Shiloh Community Center to conduct research, document environmental and health impacts, and mobilize community advocacy.

As a result of this ongoing work, the Birmingham-based law firm Wiggins Childs Pantazis Fisher & Goldfarb filed a lawsuit on July 8th on behalf of several Shiloh homeowners and property owners. The suit seeks accountability and relief for the long-standing flooding and property damage.

Full Statement of Dr. Robert D. Bullard on His 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