A Summary of Robert D. Bullard’s “Environmental Justice for All”

Environmental movements often reflect the idealist aspirations of upper middle class whites, but seldom are the poor represented. Sometimes they fail to take into account the needs of the poor and the scope of racial oppression when discussing environmental burdens. In this article, Bullard describes the history of the environmental movement, environmental racism, and call for the action of government to inflict change.

People frequently see media coverage of impoverished African American communities serving as dumping grounds for pollutants and other hazardous waste; and before, the people in these communities will watch helplessly as industry, manufacturers, and even the city throw waste in their backyards. But as early as 1968, the inception and concept of environmental justice provided a means for citizens to speak out and rally against corporations and demand government set forth laws. In 1991 environmental activists marched down Washington D.C. for a summit to “bring national attention to pollution problems threatening low-income and minority communities.”

The protest was simple: put forth the notion that working class and minority communities receive less environmental protection that white or affluent communities. It involved expanding the definition of “environment” to include a social aspect as well as the physical and natural ones. In essence, the “movement changed the way environmentalism is practiced in the United States and, ultimately, worldwide.” The cry for environmental justice lead to two dozen policy papers displaying “powerful environmental and health disparities between people of color and whites”–a movement that falls under the umbrella of civil rights.

The first lawsuit filed using civil rights law, in the vein of environmental justice, was Bean v. Southwestern Waste Management, Inc. in 1979. The issue regards Houston’s landfills and incinerators which were located in predominantly black neighborhoods, “even though Blacks made up only 25 percent of the city’s population.” Although they were ineffective to halt dumping in the landfill, the plaintiffs did manage to enforce waste regulations for the city and state. The environmental justice movement, however, shot into national attention when Warren County, N.C. was selected as a site to dispose of toxic waste. The decision brought forth many protests that lead to over 500 arrests, “marking the first time any Americans had been jailed protesting the placement of waste facility.”

Environmental racism was now front and center on the national stage. The landfill, ultimately, went through the political cycle, but the organization of churches, civil rights protestors, youth, and environmental activists melded the black community together. The efforts of Warren County led to studies produced by such groups. Statistical analysis confirmed that “three of every five Black live in communities with abandoned toxic waste sites.” These instances are only the tip of the iceberg in a long line of environmental atrocities borne by minority communities.

Since then there have been many successes led by the environmental justice movements; decisions in cases that resulted in relocation, government intervention, and million dollar court settlements. The Bush administration had curbed some of this progress. New rules governing air pollution have set back the strides made by the environmental justice movement. In these trying times where clean air is a luxury, it seems that standards have become more lenient when they should have become more stringent. Environment justice should be a right for all, and not just for the upper class of society.

What is environmental justice?

Environmental justice are inequitable environment burdens borne by racial minorities and communities and those of low socioeconomic status. These people and communities often are treated unfairly as their environment is compromised by decision makers who may designate their neighborhoods for disposal of waste and pollutants which prove harmful to those living within the area. 

Bullard, Robert D. “Environmental Justice for All.” Sources: Selection in Environmental Studies. Ed.                 Thomas Easton. United States, 2014. 170-172.