The Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University has been awarded a $5 million grant from the Waverley Street Foundation (WSF).
The grant will be used to support Bullard Center personnel and current research, policy and advocacy initiatives, the HBCU Climate Change Consortium, the HBCU-CBO Gulf Coast Equity Consortium, the HBCU Climate Change Conference, and the planning of a newly developed Environmental and Climate Justice Green Learning Center.
“We are excited about this grant that will enhance the important leadership role our HBCU-based center and team play in building, strengthening, and growing the global environmental and climate justice movement,” said Dr. Robert D. Bullard, who is often called the Father of Environmental Justice. “With these resources the Bullard Center, in collaboration with our HBCU Climate Change Consortium, will continue to punch above our weight in training the next generation of diverse environmental leaders, scientists, policymakers and community-university partnerships in pursuit of justice for those who historically have been forgotten, left out and left behind.”
Texas Southern University will provide matching funds with an endowment for a portion of the gift.
“Texas Southern University is proud of the transformative work the Bullard Center does daily,” said Melinda Spaulding Chevalier, vice president for communications and university advancement/TSU Foundation executive director. “This funding will enable Dr. Bullard and his team to lead the vital effort to ensure the research that influences important policy decisions is conducted through the lens of equity, and that HBCUs are at the forefront of that important work. The TSU Foundation looks forward to stewarding this transformational gift alongside the Bullard Center.”
The initiative in place was announced in 2021 after philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, announced her commitment to pledge $3.5 billion into climate focused initiatives over the next 10 years.
"The Bullard Center, with its deep experience working with HBCUs and community-based organizations, has defined best practices and key learnings for addressing climate change on a global scale,"said Alexandra McBride, strategy director, Waverley Street Foundation."In order to accelerate local solutions to meet this scale, the Bullard Center is one of our partners helping us explore place-based partnerships that advance equitable climate strategies."
WSF supports climate solutions arising from local leaders and organizations at work in the places they call home. Their partners around the world are advancing climate efforts grounded in the day-to-day lives of people and communities, that build on foundations of equity and justice, and that respond to the growing challenges of those living on the frontlines of climate change.
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About the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice
The Robert D. Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University was launched to address longstanding issues of systemic inequality and structural racism that cause disproportionate pain, suffering and death in Black and other people of color communities. Texas Southern University is a student-centered comprehensive doctoral university committed to ensuring equality, offering innovative programs that are responsive to its urban setting, and transforming diverse students into lifelong learners, engaged citizens, and creative leaders in their local, national, and global communities.
About Waverley Street Foundation
Waverley Street Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit supporting farmers, students, Indigenous peoples, advocates, and many others working in the places they call home. Waverley Street has committed to spend the entirety of its endowment- more than $3 billion as of 2022 - by 2035 to support organizations working on solutions at the intersection of climate change and community priorities.
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