Joseph Beam facts for kids

Joseph Fairchild Beam (born December 30, 1954 – died December 27, 1988) was an African-American writer, poet, and activist. He worked hard to support and give a voice to Black gay men.

About Joseph F. Beam

Joseph Beam was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 30, 1954. His father, Sun Fairchild Beam, was a security guard. His mother, Dorothy Saunders Beam, was a teacher and school counselor. Joseph was raised in the Catholic faith.

College Years and Early Activism

In 1976, Beam earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Franklin College. While there, he was very active in the Black Student Union. He helped organize important conferences on campus. He also took part in college journalism and radio programs. In 1974, he received an award for broadcasting from the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Writing and Community Work

In the early 1980s, Beam started working at Giovanni's Room. This was a special bookstore in Philadelphia for gay and lesbian books. While working there, he wrote a lot. He also became very active in local and national efforts. He wanted to help the Black gay community gain acceptance, be seen, and achieve social justice.

His writings appeared in many different newspapers and publications. Some of these included Au Courant, Black/Out, Blackheart, and The Advocate. His short stories, Brother to Brother and No Cheek to Turn, were highly praised.

Connecting with Others

Joseph Beam had many friends and people he wrote to. These included famous writers and activists like Audre Lorde, Barbara Smith, and Essex Hemphill. He also wrote letters to people who were in prison. He felt this was because he understood feeling "imprisoned" himself. He felt this way as a Black man and as a gay man who had to hide his identity.

Through his writing, Beam wanted to help gay men of color feel less alone. He aimed to help them build their own strong community. He also wanted to show positive images of them in the media. He felt that white gay rights activists sometimes left out Black gay men. He was inspired by the ideas of Black feminist and lesbian movements. He saw his work as a way to "correct" and redefine ideas about race, sex, class, and gender in the United States.

Awards and Leadership

In 1984, the Lesbian and Gay Press Association honored Beam. They gave him a certificate for his excellent work as a minority journalist. In 1985, he became a consultant for the Gay and Lesbian Task Force. This group was part of the American Friends Service Committee.

Also in 1985, Beam joined the Executive Committee of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays. He became the editor of their journal, Black/Out. That same year, he received The Philadelphia Gay News Lambda Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Important Books

Beam was the editor of In the Life (1986). This was the first collection of poetry and stories by Black gay men. For this book, he received an award from the State House of Rhode Island in 1987. He also got a special commendation from the City of Philadelphia.

Joseph Beam started working on a second collection called Brother to Brother. He named it after one of his earlier short stories. However, he passed away before he could finish it. Essex Hemphill and Beam’s mother, Dorothy, completed the book. It was published in 1991 as Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men.

His Legacy

Joseph Beam passed away on December 27, 1988. He died from an illness related to AIDS, just three days before his thirty-fourth birthday.

In 1992, Beam's mother gave her son’s papers to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York. This led to the creation of the Center’s In the Life archive. This archive is dedicated to the experiences of Black LGBTQ people. It includes letters to Black gay writers like Audre Lorde. It also has letters to people who were incarcerated. The archive contains interviews with organizer Bayard Rustin and poet Pat Parker. It also holds notes and writings from Beam's journalism and his work for equal rights.

Works

• In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology. Edited by Joseph F. Beam (Alyson Publications, 1986). ISBN: 9780932870735