Robert Bullard, the “father of environmental justice,” has pledged to bring the community’s concerns to the White House.
SHILOH COMMUNITY, Ala.—If it’s been raining, the kids bring two pairs of shoes to the bus stop.
One pair is for before school—for the trek through high water in the historically Black Shiloh community in Coffee County, Alabama.
“They roll their pants legs up, too,” said Otis Andrews, who’s lived in the community nearly all his life.
Once they’ve made it onto the bus, they can change into their second pair, drying out for the school day to come.
“That’s not acceptable,” Andrews said of the situation. “It’s really not. They shouldn’t have to do this.”
It hasn’t always been this way. Shiloh is naturally flat, explained Robert Bullard, a Coffee County native known as the “father of environmental justice.”
It was only when the State of Alabama expanded Highway 84 from two to four lanes, elevating it well above the existing terrain, that the problems began, according to Bullard and Shiloh’s residents. Since that expansion was completed in 2018, those living in the community have faced flooding that has left them desperate for action.
“Water goes downhill, and it doesn’t take a Ph.D. to understand that,” Bullard said. “This was done on purpose. This wasn’t an accidental ‘oops.’ ALDOT cared more about not flooding the highway than they did about flooding the community. That is unacceptable.”
The Alabama Department of Transportation did not respond to a request for comment before publication. The department has previously denied that the highway expansion led to flooding in the Shiloh community.
On Monday, Bullard visited the Shiloh community once again, kicking off a Black History Month “Journey to Justice” tour run by his namesake Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University.
During the visit, Bullard vowed to bring residents’ realities straight to the White House in the coming days. Bullard, a member of President Joe Biden’s Environmental Justice Advisory Council, said getting justice for Shiloh is his priority this year.
