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Abandon All Hope Ye That Enter: Title Vi, Equal Protection, And The Divine Comedy Of Environmental Justice, Carlton Waterhouse
Abandon All Hope Ye That Enter: Title Vi, Equal Protection, And The Divine Comedy Of Environmental Justice, Carlton Waterhouse
Carlton Waterhouse
Dante’s Alighieri’s epic poem the Divine Comedy begins with the journey of the author and his guide Virgil down through the depths of Hell. Early in their trek, Dante finds the phrase “Abandon All Hope Ye That Enter” inscribed above the gates of Hell. Drawing on this classic work, the article analogizes Dante’s passage through Hell with the experience of communities relying on civil rights law to address the disparate racial effects of environmental decisions. The article begins with an examination of the first administrative complaint filed with the Environmental Protection Agency alleging racial discrimination in environmental permitting in 1992 …