Ep 543- Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard Talk The Tribeca Doc: I WAS BORN THIS WAY!

The Roundtable with Robert Bannon · Jun 30, 2025 · 23m

Surviving racism, homophobia and childhood trauma, Carl Bean found his voice through song – first as a gospel singer in Harlem’s Christian Tabernacle Choir and then later performing with his group Carl Bean and Universal Love on their 1974 album “Universal Love.”

But it was the recording of the 1977 Motown hit “I Was Born This Way” that would earn him fame; the song was celebrated as the world’s first gay anthem.However, Bean eschewed a mainstream music career…instead choosing a vocation in activism.

He started the Minority AIDS Project -- serving a vital role for underserved populations…