---
name: "Joseph Beam"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/joseph-beam"
fi1m_id: "joseph-beam"
tmdb_id: 3237213
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "30 December 1954"
died: "27 December 1988"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-26T02:10:54.956631+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Joseph Beam

## Identity

Joseph Beam

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/joseph-beam
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** joseph-beam
- **TMDB ID:** 3237213
- **Same entity:** https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3237213

Writer. Born 30 December 1954 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Died 27 December 1988.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 30 December 1954, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- **Died:** 27 December 1988
- **Elsewhere:** https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3237213

## 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.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, archives.nypl.org.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Tongues Untied* (1990), Fi1m 82, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/tongues-untied.md)

## Complete filmography (1)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Tongues Untied* (1990), Writer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/tongues-untied.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/joseph-beam