An Ecowomanist Analysis of Politicized Environmental Identity Formation and Environmental Activism Among Black Women in the United States

Abstract

Politicized environmental identity is a central predictor of environmental activism. However, examinations of politicized environmental identity and environmental activist identity have failed to explore nuance embedded in the experiences of individuals with intersecting marginalized identities. Grounded in ecowomanism and Black feminism, this phenomenological inquiry explored the development of politicized environmental identity alongside other social identities through the narratives of six Black women environmental activists. Findings suggested that critical consciousness and exposure to environmental harm may be more facilitative of politicized environmental identity development among Black women, rather than identification with mainstream environmental organizations. Participants described Black womanhood as inherently political, linking systemic oppression to both their environmental realities and activist engagement. This study illuminated Black women's environmental activism through their unique intersectional position, enabling them to readily see connections between gendered racism and planetary destruction. Further, their activism facilitated increases in their confidence, self-efficacy, sense of agency, hope and joy, and courage to continually resist environmental destruction. As such, this research advances scholarship in Black and environmental psychologies and feminist studies and calls for the development of environmental activism frameworks centered in the intersectional lived experiences of marginalized and politically oppressed individuals. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843251382254