Robert D. Bullard Writes to the Next Environmental-Justice Leaders

I am a proud boomer and Vietnam-era Marine Corps veteran. I am also an environmental-justice fighter. When I began this work in 1979, environmental justice was a footnote. Through our efforts, it is now a headline. But these days, millennials, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z combined far outnumber my generation. So we must equip future generations with the tools and resources to take our plight across the finish line to build climate-resilient communities. Environmental justice embraces the principle that all communities are entitled to equal protection and equal enforcement, along with access to housing, transportation, food security, water, health, and clean energy. Everyone deserves to live in pollution-free neighborhoods where kids can play outside and on playgrounds that chemical plants and landfills do not surround.