headshot of bullard with event information
“Father of Environmental Justice” to Deliver MLK Jr. Commemorative Lecture
Trinity University to welcome Robert D. Bullard, Ph.D.

Trinity University and the San Antonio MLK Jr. Commission will welcome Robert D. Bullard, often described as the “father of environmental justice,” as guest speaker of the 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture. His presentation will take place at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 23, in Trinity’s Laurie Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

Bullard is the former dean of the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University (2011-16) and is currently their Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy. He is the co-founder of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Climate Change Consortium, and an award-winning author of 18 books that address sustainable development, environmental racism, and urban land use. 

In July 2007, Bullard was featured in the program CNN People You Should Know “Bullard: Green Issue is Black and White,” and in 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 13 Environmental Leaders of the Century. In 2018, the Global Climate Action Summit named him one of 22 Climate Trailblazers, and Apolitical named him one of the world’s 100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy in 2019. He has been honored by Washington State University with the William Julius Wilson Award for the Advancement of Justice, and Climate One presented him with the Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication.

In 2013, Bullard was the first African American to win the Sierra Club John Muir Award, and the Children’s Environmental Health Network presented him with the Child Health Advocate Award in 2017. He is known as a leader against environmental racism, as well as the foremost scholar of the problem.

Bullard received his doctorate degree from Iowa State University and is a proud U.S. Marine Corps veteran. 

Trinity has honored the memory of King for decades and launched the speaker series in 1994. More than 300 students, staff, and faculty are expected to join other residents in San Antonio in the city’s 52nd annual MLK Jr. March through the city’s East Side on Monday, Jan. 20. Other activities scheduled to honor the late Martin Luther King Jr. at Trinity can be found on Trinity’s website.

For more information about this lecture, please visit Trinity’s events page or contact Trinity’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion at 210-999-8059.

Carla Sierra is the public relations manager for Trinity University Strategic Communications and Marketing.

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