Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson Sunday at 9 a.m. is scheduled to dedicate the corner of S. Jefferson Boulevard and W. Sycamore as Archbishop Carl Bean Square at 5149 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Los Angeles.
Bean was the founder of Minority AIDS Project and led the Unity Fellowship Church Movement, one of the nation’s first welcoming black churches for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Bean currently serves as the founding and presiding prelate for the national Unity Fellowship Church Movement.
“Through his activism, Carl Bean pioneered how we treat, educate and advocate for one of the most significant health crises of our time, and he did it with a focus and passion for saving black lives,” Wesson said. “He did this during a time when the resources and attention were focused on white gay men and not communities of color. This honor is long overdue, and I’m excited that for decades to come, his legacy will be preserved for future Angelenos to learn and celebrate.”
The square dedication was unanimously approved by the Los Angeles City Council on March 22.
In 1982, Unity Fellowship Church Movement, Los Angeles (UFCLA) was founded by Bean for openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender African Americans.
The Minority AIDS Project (MAP) was founded to address the needs of individuals within the African American and Latino communities who were living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles.