Trans Jewish educator, performer keynotes annual URI symposium

Trans Jewish writer, educator, performer and social justice activist T. Wise will be the keynote presenter at the University of Rhode Island’s 27th Annual LGBTQ+ Symposium, which is scheduled for March 23-24 on the Kingston campus.

On Wednesday, March 23, at 6 p.m., Christoph Green’s acclaimed documentary short film “Flux.1: T. Wise” will be screened in the Hope Room in the Higgins Welcome Center. Access will also be available on Zoom.

Wise will attend the screening and answer questions afterwards, along with his parents, Rabbi Irvin and Kathy Wise, who live in Barrington. Filmmaker Green will also attend and will take questions.

The 37-minute film is an intimate portrait of Wise, a Hebrew teacher living in Brooklyn, New York, who quits his job and gives up his apartment to follow his dream of pursuing a career in comedy just one year after beginning his transition from female to male.

The film follows Wise through the ups and downs of stand-up comedy as he performs at open-mic nights in bars, at parties for friends and at comedy clubs in New York City. The viewer also spends time with Wise’s parents, as well as his sisters, friends and girlfriend. He is open about his sexuality, his emotional life and every other aspect of his life as a trans man.

In an interview, Rabbi Wise emphasized the importance of his son’s message for all Jews.

“As a rabbi, I think it’s really important for Jewish folks to know as much about LGBTQ issues as it is to know about issues of racism and poverty and justice equality. It’s really important to educate ourselves to know more.

“We know in the Jewish community that there’s a lot of LGBTQ skepticism about how welcome they would be in the mainstream communities in the United States.”

Kathy Wise, an educator, said, “As in any area of relationships, whenever the human face can be inserted into the conversation, it is bound to open eyes, ears, minds and hearts. That would be the goal.”

She added, “Changing a mind is the hardest thing to do.”

The film touches on many of the family’s emotions as the deeply connected Wises journey through T’s transition with him.

“To his credit, T shared all this, so we evolved,” said Rabbi Wise.

“T,” he said, “is committed to contributing to the ethical, spiritual moral evolution of this whole thing, to help families and communities get to where they need to get. He could choose just to be private and quiet.”

Of his son’s transition, Rabbi Wise said, “It’s the good and right thing for who T is.

"He is a courageous and strong person.”

Kathy Wise agreed. She said T has said that he did not choose this, it is simply who he is.

On March 24, day two of the symposium, Wise and Green will work with URI students.

In a URI news release, Manuela Vadis, interim coordinator at the URI Gender and Sexuality Center and chair of the Trans Inclusion Events, Programs, and Services Subcommittee, said, “One of the goals of this program is to provide engaging events that move the campus toward greater inclusion and understanding of trans and nonbinary folks and their stories.”

Registration is required for in-person and Zoom attendance at the free film event. Go to https://bit.ly/3t9aSz9.

FRAN OSTENDORF (fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org) is the editor of Jewish Rhode Island.