Dr. Robert Bullard is a researcher, activist, and author who pioneered a branch of the social sciences known as environmental justice. His efforts have been aimed at combating toxic dumping in minority communities by bringing widespread attention to this problem. He has been called the "father of environmental justice". (Bullard 1) This speech, “How Race Influenced the Federal Government's Response to Katrina” uses Hurricane Katrina and many other disasters to highlight inequities against Black communities in all phases of the disaster response. Particular emphasis is placed on the negative effects of these inequalities such as deliberate racial discrimination against black communities by all levels of government. Although Dr. Bullard engages the listener well with emotionally charged phrases, it will be shown that he fails to establish that discrimination alone, and not other complexities inherent in disaster response, explains all of his claims. Bullard effectively establishes ethics through his well-known reputation as the definitive expert on the subject and by referencing personal studies and research on the events he describes throughout the speech. He further establishes the ethos by using first-person narration throughout the speech, as in his opening sentence: “We documented at least a dozen hurricanes in the South and how African-American communities fared….” (Faigley and Selzer 328), and shortly thereafter, “…we looked at various hurricanes, how and what happened, the damage, and what the response was.” (Faigley and Selzer 328) further: “We studied the whole idea of ​​who provides assistance in the first hours of disasters.” (Faigley and Selzer 330) His most effective use of ethics is his personal narrative... .center of paper......CitedAvakian, Bob. “The 2005 International Commission of Inquiry into Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration of the United States.” Voice of the Revolution of the Revolutionary Communist Party”, USA. 08 August 2005: 1. Web. 14 September 2011. .Bullard, Robert. "Biography of Robert D. Bullard". Robert D. Bullard-father of environmental justice. 2011: 1. Web. September 14, 2011. “EPA Milestones.” EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, July 8, 2011. Web. Sep 23, 2011. .Faigley, Lester, and Jack Selzer. Good reasons with contemporary arguments. 4th. New York: Longman, 2009. 328. Print. .