J Mase III is a poet, an educator and a self-taught theologian. He is also a black trans man whose work is focused on the intersection of faith and social justice. Through performances and various projects, he has been raising awareness of the many ways that religious-inspired intolerance and violence negatively impacts trans people, by informing legislation, family life, social interactions, medical care and more. These faith practices, says Mase, are rooted in colonization and create deep-seated trauma for trans folk, especially people of color. This has led him, along with Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, to create a new theology, the tenets of which will be laid out in the Black Trans Prayer Book: an interfaith, interdisciplinary project that will bring together artists, theologians, writers and poets to create a work that affirms the spiritual realities of Black trans people.
