Last Updated on September 6, 2024 by Kittredge Cherry
Carl Bean was founding archbishop of the Unity Fellowship Church Movement in the black LGBTQ community, early AIDS activist and Motown singer of the 1977 gay-liberation anthem “I Was Born This Way.” He died Sept. 7, 2021 at age 77 after a long illness.
Bean (May 26, 1944 – Sept. 7, 2021) was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised in the Baptist church. He became a professional gospel singer and moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Soon he joined the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches and became friends with its founder, Troy Perry, who started MCC in 1968 to proclaim God’s radical love for all, including LGBTQ people. In his memorial tribute, Perry wrote, “Carl was truly a saint of God, and I don’t use that phrase very often.”
He recorded “I Was Born This Way” for Motown in 1977 and it became a disco club hit, rising to #15 on the Billboard charts. It became the foundation for Lady Gaga’s 2011 song and album “Born This Way” — and also an affirmation of his own call to ministry. In his booming voice he sang lyrics such as:
I’m happy, I’m carefree and I’m gay
You’re calling me strange ‘cause
You don’t understand
God’s role for me in life’s overall plan.
Soon Bean rejected Motown’s offer to record more music and instead enrolled in MCC’s Samaritan College to study for the ministry. During this period of study and reflection, he also drew inspiration from books such as “A Black Theology of Liberation” by James Cone, “Jesus and the Disinherited” by Howard Thurman and “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda.
Bean founded Unity Fellowship in 1982
Bean founded Unity Fellowship in 1982 in south central Los Angeles by advertising in The Sentinel, L.A.’s African American newspaper. Many people were drawn to the charismatic Bean, and by 1990 Unity Fellowship incorporated and began expanding. It has grown to 17 congregations across the United States and in Jamaica. He was still serving as archbishop and presiding prelate at the time of his death.
Unity Fellowship in Los Angeles and James Tinney’s Faith Temple Christian Church in Washington, DC, were both founded in 1982 and are considered the first black LGBTQ churches.
In 1985 Bean founded the Minority AIDS Project, the first organization of its kind and still going strong. It continues to provide AIDS/HIV prevention, care and treatment services for more than 1,500 low-income African American and Latino people in south Los Angeles.
These career highlights and many other events are covered in Bean’s autobiography, “I Was Born This Way: A Gay Preacher’s Journey through Gospel Music, Disco Stardom, and a Ministry in Christ.” It was published in 2010 by Simon and Schuster. The official video trailer for the book release captures Bean’s warmth, intelligence and spiritual depth.
A 2011 video shows the archbishop discussing spiritual principles, religious dogma and Unity Fellowship at the movement’s 2011 national gathering.
“The Giant Sleeps,” proclaimed the obituary announcement on the Unity Fellowship website. Many tributes are being shared in the wake of his passing. They include a portrait of the archbishop with a rainbow halo by North Carolina artist Jeremy Whitner. It appears at the top of this post. Whitner is a gay Christian mystic in process for ministry with the Disciples of Christ.
A memorial service was held on Sept. 18. A Unity Fellowship announcement stated, “We hold space for his life and his legacy, and honor how he liberated us with the mantra, ‘God is love and love is for everyone!’’”
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Links related to Carl Bean
Carl Bean, minister and AIDS activist who sang ‘I Was Born This Way,’ dies at 77 (Washington Post)
Carl Bean, singer of LGBT pride anthem I Was Born This Way, dies aged 77 (BBC.com)
Archbishop Carl Bean profile (LGBTQ Religious Archives Network)
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Top image credit:
“Rt. Rev Carl Bean” by Jeremy Whitner
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This post is part of the LGBTQ Saints series by Kittredge Cherry. Traditional and alternative saints, people in the Bible, LGBT and queer martyrs, authors, theologians, religious leaders, artists, deities and other figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and our allies are covered.
This article was originally published on Q Spirit on Sept. 8, 2021, was expanded with new material over time, and was most recently updated on Oct. 1, 2023.
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