"Federal lawsuit claiming local officials illegally pushed polluting industries into Black communities reaches new stage. "
"A major environmental justice case tying slavery’s legacy to Cancer Alley reached a new phase after a judge rejected defendants’ motion to dismiss last month.
The lawsuit centers on claims that St. James Parish in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, where many industrial sites are located on former plantations where people were enslaved, violated the U.S. Constitution by pushing polluting industry into Black communities.
“In their complaint, Plaintiffs tell the story of how plantations gave way to industrial facilities that now endanger black residents’ health, negatively impact their quality of life, and desecrate the unmarked cemeteries of their ancestors,” District Judge Carl Barbier wrote in the February 9 order denying defendants’ motion to dismiss the case.
It’s unusual to see a federal court accept a 13th Amendment claim over environmental harms."
Sharon Kelly reports for DeSmog March 10, 2026.
