Recorded in January 2021, Archbishop Carl Bean, spiritual leader, HIV activism pioneer, and the voice behind 1977’s “I Was Born This Way,” recounts his journey from gospel stages and Motown to founding Unity Fellowship and ministering through the HIV crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. It’s a candid, joy-filled reflection on faith, music, and queer Black liberation that turns history into a call to love openly and live unapologetically.

According to the New York Times, I Was Born This Way, released in 1975, is “the first record to feature lyrics about being an out-and-proud gay man.” At face value that statement is significant, but when you look further, it has a much deeper meaning. Here’s the truth: Charles Valentino (then known by the mononym “Valentino”), a Black gay man, sang the first record to feature lyrics about being out and proud. The lyrics were written by Bunny Jones in 1971, a Black woman. CNP plans to honor the legacy of this groundbreaking song in LIBERATION: Remembering I Was Born This Way—a two-part event kicking off in July.