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Carl Bean

1944 – 2021

American musician and clergyman

PrelateLGBTQ rights activist HIV/AIDS activist
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About Carl Bean

Lived 1944 – 2021 (aged 77). Carl Bean was an American prelate, lGBTQ rights activist, hIV/AIDS activist, musician and archbishop.

Carl Bean (May 26, 1944 – September 7, 2021) was an African-American singer and activist who was the founding prelate of the Unity Fellowship Church Movement, a liberal Protestant denomination that is particularly welcoming of lesbians, gay and bisexual African Americans.

Life and activism Bean was born on May 26, 1944, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was openly gay.

In 1982, Bean became an activist, working on behalf of people with AIDS in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, coinciding with the rise of the AIDS epidemic.

Bean founded the Minority AIDS Project in Los Angeles with the goal of supporting people with AIDS, especially young African-American men. It is still in operation.

Bean's autobiography, I Was Born This Way, came out in 2010. The film biography directed by Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard, "I Was Born This Way" premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 5, 2025. He died at the age of 77 on September 7, 2021.

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Prelate, LGBTQ rights activist, HIV/AIDS activist, musician, archbishop
Nationality

People in Carl Bean's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Carl Bean's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Carl Bean?

American musician and clergyman

When was Carl Bean born?

Carl Bean was born on 26 May 1944 in Baltimore.

When did Carl Bean die?

Carl Bean died on 7 September 2021.

What was Carl Bean's occupation?

Carl Bean was a prelate, lGBTQ rights activist, hIV/AIDS activist, musician and archbishop.

What nationality was Carl Bean?

Carl Bean was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Carl Bean

· Wikidata: Q5039875

· DBpedia: Carl Bean

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Carl Bean. https://biography.guide/carl-bean/

MLA: "Carl Bean." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/carl-bean/.

Chicago: "Carl Bean." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/carl-bean/.

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