Buddhists of African Descent on Creating a Just Society with Michael Belton

Closing Thoughts

Listening to the transformative experiences of Black Nichiren Buddhists in this podcast series reminds us that Black people have confronted extraordinary levels of oppression over centuries and have survived. These practitioners ask, ‘how do we confront this onslaught beyond expressing fear and outrage?’We are encouraged by these practitioners—by their wisdom and stamina, by their singing and chanting, by their emphasis on joy. Supported by the Crossroads Project funded by the Henry J. Luce Foundation, as well as the Frederick Lenz Foundation and the Fetzer Institute. Produced by Sandra Hannebohm, founder of Twice as Good Media.

Buddhists of African Descent on Creating a Just Society with Michael Belton

This final episode explores the connection between self-improvement and justice. Nichiren Daishonin, the founder of Nichiren Buddhism, believed that Buddhism only has meaning when it effects positive change in society. Rima Vesely-Flad speaks with Michael Belton, a founding co-architect of the association, Buddhists of African Descent, about how this teaching has helped him develop throughout his life. Michael Belton is a Minneapolis-based practitioner who spent forty years in public service, most recently as the Deputy Director for Ramsey County, Minnesota’s Juvenile Corrections Division. He has instituted culturally responsive treatment and programming for communities of color, focusing on culturally rooted responses for vulnerable African American male youth.

Buddhists of African Descent on “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo” with Jacci Thompson-Dodd

“Nam Myoho Renge Kyo,” the title of the Lotus Sutra, is also known as the Daimoku. In this episode, Rima Vesely-Flad speaks with a decades-long practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism, Jacci Thompson-Dodd, about the significance of chanting and other practices of the association, Buddhists of African Descent. Jacci Thompson-Dodd has practiced Nichiren Buddhism for 50 years. She supports women healing from life-altering illness and trauma. Thrivorship®, her nationally recognized program for breast cancer survivors, has been offered by cancer centers and organizations across the country.

Buddhists of African Descent on Education in Nichiren Buddhism with Mahazi Roundtree

Study is a core practice for Nichiren Buddhists, who dive deeply into the Lotus Sutra and the writings of Nichiren Daishonin as a way to cultivate their inherent Buddha-nature. Mahazi Roundtree has been a Nichiren practitioner for 38 years. She is a study leader in the Nichiren Buddhist association, Buddhists of African Descent, and she lives in Harlem, New York, where she is a corporate paralegal by day and a jazz vocalist & bass player by night.

Buddhists of African Descent on Innate Buddhahood with Thembi

This and the next three episodes feature conversations with members of the association, Buddhists of African Descent (aka BAD) which engages in connecting traditional systems of African spirituality with the basic tenets and principles of Nichiren Buddhism. Thembi is one of the founding co-architects of BAD. She speaks with Rima Vesely-Flad about the significance of Buddhahood for herself and other Black practitioners in America. Thembi (Valerie Geaither) is professor emerita at Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis, where for 25 years she was a professor of Education Philosophy and Family Studies, as well as a co-director of the Center for Community Based Education, Learning and Research. She was also a catalyst in establishing the university’s School of Urban Education.