In Recognition of Black History Month

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Written by Angela Kayira

Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad’s forthcoming book, The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde illuminates the wisdom of two Black, queer luminaries through a dharmic lens, exploring how Baldwin and Lorde fostered skillful approaches to suffering as they sought to dismantle harmful conditions, expanding Buddhism’s timeless truths towards liberation and justice.

In a 2023 interview Vesley-Flad talks about the development of a course on the dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde (which later became the Fire Inside).

I recently published a book called Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation. In the sixth chapter, which is one on gender and sexuality, I engage Baldwin and Lorde. It’s really because there are three dharma teachers who write personally about their interpretations with Baldwin and Lorde, who all come from different Buddhist lineages. So I did a deep dive into these dharma teachers’ books, and coming out of writing that chapter, I thought, ‘I would like to teach a course on this and look at why these two writers are so compelling to these amazing dharma teachers.’

The Fire Inside dives deeply into a dharma of liberation as lived by Baldwin and Lorde, offering timely lessons to help us each meet this moment. She explores the writers’ enduring legacies to show that liberation depends not only on organizing and mass movements, but the generative power of inner well-being, authenticity, art, and embodiment. (please note book descriptions comes from the publisher)

Dr. Rima Vesley-Flad is a Visiting Professor of Buddhism and Black Studies at Union Theological Seminary. The Fire Inside is being released February 3, 2026. Dr. Rima Vesley-Flad is offering talks throughout the month of February to launch her new book.

  • February 4, Conversation with Rima Vesley-Flad and Lama Rod Owens, 7:30-8:30 EST (by donation)

  • February 26, Zen Mountain Monastery, 7:00-9:00 PM EST (sliding scale)

You can find The Fire Inside at your local Independent Book sellers.

Some Black History Month Events in Vancouver

Books by Black Teachers and Practitioners of the Buddha Dharma

(this list is in no way exhaustive). Websites have been added for those who have one.

 Black and Buddhist: What Buddhism Can Teach Us About Race, Resilience, Transformation and Freedom. Eds. Cheryl A. Giles and Pamela Ayo Yetunde (2020) Shambhala.

 Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation by Kaira Jewel Lingo, Valerie Brown, and Marisela B. Gomez. Parallax Press (2024)

 Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation by Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Lama Rod Owens, Jasmine Syedullah (2016) North Atlantic Books. Kiara Jewel Lingo

 We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption (2021) Parallax Press. Kate Johnson

 Radial Friendship: Seven Ways to Love Yourself and Find Your People In an Unjust World (2021) Shambhala. Larry Ward

 America’s Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal (2020) Parallax Press. Please note Larry Ward passed away in 2025. Ruth King

 Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out ( 2018) Sounds True. Earthlyn Zenju Manuel (some of her selected works)

 The Way of Tenderness: Awakening Through Race, Sexuality and Gender (2015) Wisdom Publications.

 Sanctuary: A Meditation on Home, Homelessness, and Belonging (2018) Wisdom Publications.

 The Shamanic Roots of Zen: Revealing the Ancestral Spirit and Mystical Heart of a Sacred Tradition (2022) Shambhala.

 Opening to Darkness: Eight Gateways for Being with the Absence of Light in Unsettling Times (2023) Sounds True. Rhonda V. Magee

 The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness (2019) Tarcher Perigee Lama Rod Owens

 The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors (2023) Sounds True

 Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation Through Anger (2020) North Atlantic Books Toni Pressley-Sanon

 Lifting as They Climb: Black Women Buddhists and Collective Liberation (2024) Shambhala. Sebene Selassie

You Belong: A Call for Connection (2020) Harper One. Rima Vesley-Flad

 The Fire Inside: The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde. (2025) North Atlantic Books.

 Black Buddhists and the Liberatory Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation (2022) NYU Press. Spring Washam

 The Spirit of Harriet Tubman: Awakening from the Underground (2023) Hayhouse Inc.

 A Fierce Heart. Spring Washam (2019) Hayhouse Inc. Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams

 Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living Fearlessly with Grace (2000) Penguin Books. Jan Willis

 Dreaming Me: Black, Buddhist and Baptist: One Woman’s Spiritual Journey (2008) Wisdom Publications.