I WAS BORN THIS WAY SCREENING

When Archbishop Carl Bean recorded the 1977 Motown hit and groundbreaking gay anthem I Was Born This Way, he launched a lifelong mission to change the world. Surviving racism, homophobia and childhood trauma, Bean first found his voice in gospel music with Harlem’s Christian Tabernacle Choir, then led Carl Bean and Universal Love on their 1974 album Universal Love. The Motown hit became the world’s first gay anthem, but Bean turned away from mainstream fame to embrace activism, founding the Minority AIDS Project to serve communities devastated by the AIDS crisis and establishing Unity Fellowship Church, the first LGBTQ+ ministry. Partly told through innovative rotoscope animation, I Was Born This Way celebrates the unapologetic Black gay trailblazer and his enduring message: “Love is for everyone.”

Get tickets here.

Co-presented by Rocky Mountain Equality

Call2Action Panel: “Find the place in you that allows you to love yourself and each other.” - Carl Bean. Film Producer Wellington Love, Lucinnia Majik, Trans and Racial Equity Program Coordinator at Rocky Mountain Equality, Jean Hodges former President of PFLAG and Johnny Nichols Artistic Director of Denver Gay Men’s Chorus will address the film’s themes of racism, prejudice and abuse against the LGBTQ+ community in the church and society and the changes Carl Bean worked towards during his lifetime.