J Mase III
J Mase III is a black/trans/queer poet based in NYC. A blogger for the Huffington Post he is author of “If I Should Die Under the Knife, Tell My Kidney I was the Fiercest Poet Around” as well as "And Then I Got Fired: One Transqueer's Reflections on Grief, Unemployment and Inappropriate Jokes About Death." As an educator, J Mase has worked with thousands of community members in the US, the UK and Canada on the needs of LGBTQIA youth and adults in spaces such as k-12 schools, universities, faith communities and restricted care facilities among others. He is the founder of the international performance tour Cupid Ain’t @#$%!: An Anti-Valentine’s Day Poetry Movement and is the founder of awQward, the first ever trans & queer people of color specific talent agency. You can find him on Facebook, twitter and www.awQwardtalent.com!
Awarded Grants
2007
Art and Change Grant (ACG)
Overview
J Mase III plans to create a book of photography documenting environmental racism and its systemic effects on people of color. Disposable cameras will be distributed to high school- and college-aged youth who will be invited to take pictures of the trash, dumpsites and/or chemical waste in their neighborhoods. The final photographs will be included in Mason's book, which will serve as an organizing tool, made available to schools, youth programs, and other organizations in the Philadelphia area interested in learning more about urban environmental issues.