ABOVE: Archbishop Carl Bean, courtesy of the Rev. Elder Russell E. Thornhill, Unity Fellowship Church Movement
In announcement tinged with sadness, the leadership of Unity Fellowship Church Movement broke the news Sept. 7 of the death of its founder, Archbishop Carl Bean.
Since its founding in South Los Angeles in 1982, the denomination has had open arms and embraced Black LGBTQ Angelenos and many in the LGBTQ movement and beyond consider it the first Christian church in the United States to welcome Black LGBTQ people.
Tributes to Bishop Bean have begun to pour in from around the country as people remembered the dynamic and engaging man of faith.
We are deeply saddened by the loss of Archbishop #CarlBean.
Barbara Satin, Faith Work Director at @TheTaskForce says, "We honor and are grateful for his historic work as an openly gay Black pastor, who for decades lived a life of faith and service."
Read on. [1/4] #LGBTQFaith pic.twitter.com/7GOKrioGp8
— TheTaskForce (@TheTaskForce) September 8, 2021
Bean’s work in the areas addressing the AIDS/HIV pandemic was noteworthy on its own. According to the Los Angeles Sentinel, “Archbishop Carl Bean started the Minority AIDS Project (MAP) in Los Angeles. MAP was the first community HIV/AIDS organization that focused on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS transmission in the black community during a time when the disease was considered to be relatively new.”In an emailed statement to the Blade, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization today and which began its journey providing care and services to HIV/AIDS patients 35 years ago in Los Angeles providing hospice care to people dying of AIDS, mourned the passing of Bishop Bean.
“Archbishop Carl Bean was my brother in the struggle for the last 35 years. We marched through the fire together during the height of the pain and the dying. Regardless of the pressures that could have divided us, we were always there for each other,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF. “An irreplaceable part of our history is retired with his death. However, a small piece of his legacy of service lives on at the Carl Bean House, which started as a hospice and still serves today as sacred ground and a place of healing. Rest in the peace you richly earned dear friend and comrade.”
“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Archbishop Carl Bean and thank him for his profound and visionary compassion and dedication to marginalized populations be they people with AIDS, people of color, LGBTQ people of color and more,” added Cynthia Davis, MPH, an AHF board member.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO, Lorri L. Jean added:
“Today, the Center joins people throughout Los Angeles mourning the loss of Archbishop Carl Bean. Through the Unity Fellowship and the Minority AIDS Project, Rev. Bean was a guiding light in the fight to end the AIDS pandemic, the effort to provide support to those with HIV, and his lifelong advocacy on behalf of LGBTQ people.
His mission was driven by a sense of justice and deep faith. His work—especially on behalf of Black people with HIV—was inspirational not only to those who provide services to people with HIV/AIDS but to all of us in the LGBTQ movement for equality.
We have lost a leader, but his presence will live on and serve as a beacon for all who believe we can make the world a better place through love and a shared commitment to social justice.”
