Reimagining Black Feminist Ecologies: Intersectionality and Decoloniality in the Poetry of Lucille Clifton and Malika Ndlovu.

This paper investigates the theoretical framework of Black feminist ecology, which incorporates Black feminist thought and ecological studies to examine the racial and gender aspects of environmental deterioration. By focusing on the lived experiences of Black and Indigenous women, Black feminist ecology critiques major ecological discourses that marginalise these voices and examines the interconnected forms of oppression shaped by gender, race, class, and coloniality. The study argues that Lucille Clifton and Malika Ndlovu employ intersectional and decolonial approaches to expose the exploitation of Black and Indigenous women and nature under Western/ Eurocentric capitalist patriarchy, connecting environmental degradation with gendered and racial violence. Besides, the paper argues that both Clifton and Ndlovu explore fragmented histories and collective memory while examining the impacts of slavery and apartheid. By focusing on the voices of marginalised women, their poetry critiques Western knowledge and science and envisions environmental justice and equal societal structures for both people and nature.Furthermore, this study explores how the poetry of Clifton and Ndlovu challenges industrial capitalism, environmental violence, and the colonial oppression of Black and Indigenous women’s bodies. The study stresses that the poetry of Clifton and Ndlovu exposes the necessity of reclaiming Indigenous ecological knowledge and bodily unity as decolonial acts. Both poets critique Western science and technology, which cause ecological harm and gendered violence, calling instead for Indigenous knowledge systems that stimulate justice and sustainability. Finally, this paper asserts how poetry is a vital means for intersectional and decolonial critique, encompassing social and environmental sustainability, liberation, and equity.