Biography
Joseph Beam was an African-American writer, poet and gay rights activist. He edited In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology (1986), the first collection of writing by Black gay men, and contributed to publications including Philadelphia Gay News and The Advocate. His work addressed the experiences of Black gay men and their exclusion from both Black and white gay communities.
Beam's writings and poetry appeared in the documentary Tongues Untied (1989), directed by Marlon Riggs. He died in Philadelphia in December 1988.
