Intersectionality in Brazilian Black Women's Activism for Climate Justice

This study examines how the Black women's movement in Brazil employs intersectionality within climate justice activism. We analyze how key organizations utilize intersectionality to frame and address climate change's disproportionate impact on Black women. Drawing on Black feminist thought and intersectionality theory, this research explores how these organizations demonstrate the interconnectedness of race, gender, and class in shaping climate vulnerability. Through discourse analysis of their online materials, we identify key ways they operationalize intersectionality: (1) highlighting the compounded vulnerabilities faced by Black women due to intersecting racism, sexism, and economic inequality in the context of climate change; (2) advocating for policy solutions explicitly addressing these intersecting oppressions and centering Black women's experiences; and (3) building coalitions and engaging in transnational advocacy to amplify Black women's voices within broader social justice and environmental movements. This study contributes to scholarship on intersectionality, Black feminist activism, and climate justice by demonstrating how the Black women's movement strategically employs intersectionality as a framework for analysis, advocacy, and social change.