BLK was a monthly American news magazine,which targeted African-American LGBT readers.
Published in Los Angeles, the magazine was initially distributed free of charge to local black establishments frequented by lesbians and gay men, but distribution rapidly expanded to nearly all LGBT venues in Greater Los Angeles. Its early coverage of the local black LGBT scene soon expanded to a nationwide and international focus, and eventually to national and Canadian distribution.
Sub-titled "The National Black Lesbian and Gay Newsmagazine", with the motto "where the news is colored on purpose," BLK took its name from the standard abbreviation used in U.S. personal ads for "black".
History Alan Bell, an African-American graphic designer who had published Gaysweek for three years in New York City during the late 1970s, was urged to start a news periodical for black lesbians and gay men by black LGBT HIV/AIDS activists such as Phill Wilson. Bell initially hesitated to go back to publishing, but there was a dearth of reliable information in print about African-American LGBT people and the HIV crisis which he noticed at Black Jack, the black gay men's safer sex club that he had founded in Los Angeles. Eventually he concluded that the next step from the eight-page newsletter he was producing monthly for members of Black Jack was expansion, and BLK was born. Bell set out to establish BLK as a regular, predominantly hard news alternative to the infotainment-oriented publications that intermittently appeared in America's black gay communities.
Bell chose the magazine's name to adhere to a tradition among national African-American publications of employing racially indicative titles (e.g., Ebony, Jet, Sepia). Initially pronounced as is the word "black", use of the initials in spoken English gradually became customary.
Beginning as a 16-page black-and-white newsprint publication in 1988, it grew to 40 pages with glossy color covers, paid circulation, and national product advertising by the time it ceased publication in mid-1994.
Content and coverage Although the first issue had a beefcake cover (a muscular black man clad only in a Santa hat and whiskers, partially covered by the magazine's logo), subsequent covers usually pictured a prominent African-American LGBT person featured in the "BLK Interview" section, or illustrated a theme of the month.
Among those interviewed were singer Patti LaBelle (August 1990); porn star Randy Cochran (March 1989); poet Audre Lorde (April 1989); founder of the Minority AIDS Project Carl Bean (July 1989), Black AIDS Institute founder Phill Wilson (October 1990); activist Cleo Manago (March 1990); documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs (April 1990); and Gay Men's Health Crisis CEO Marjorie Hill (August 1990).
Complete list of cover stories
Date Whole Vol. No. Cover Story Cover Person December 1988111 "Santa Claus" January 1989212"Remembering Sylvester"Sylvester February 1989313"J'ai, The Lady Sings the Blues"J'ai March 1989414"Randy Cochran"Randy Cochran April 1989515"Oh, Lorde"Audre Lorde May 1989616"Talking about Ayofemi"Ayofemi Stowe Folayan June 1989717"It Happened to Me"Roger V Pamplin, Jr. July 1989818"Rev. Carl Bean"Carl Bean August 1989919"James Baldwin"James Baldwin September 198910110"Working Inside"Keith St. John October 198911111"Black and Not Gay"George Stallings Jr. November 198912112"The Many Faces of Jewel"Jewel Thais-Williams December 198913113"Sgt. Perry Watkins"Perry Watkins January 19901421"Job Discrimination" February 19901522"Lavender Light" March 19901623"Cleo Manago"Cleo Manago April 19901724"Marlon Riggs"Marlon Riggs May 19901825"Volunteerism"(Michael Jones) June 19901926"Barbara Smith"Barbara Smith July 19902027"Pride at Home"(Nedra Johnson and Dionne Freeny) August 19902128"Climbing the Hill"Marjorie Hill September 19902229"Audre Lorde"Audre Lorde October 199023210"Phill Wilson"Phill Wilson November 199024211"The Road to Michigan"(Lauren Metoyer and Yolanda Whittington) December 199025212"All in the Family"Ivy Young January 19912631"Clauras and Wendies" February 19912732"Heading for Home"James Cleveland March 19912833"Tax Strategies"(Mitchell El-Mahdy) April 19912934"No Peace"(Willis Oliver, Jr.) May 20093035"Has Winnie Lost It?"Winnie Mandela June 19913136"Joe Simmons"Joe Simmons July 19913237"High Risk, Low Priority"(Emanuel Tapp) August 19913338"Young, Gifted and Fierce"Pomo Afro Homos October 19913439"La Belle Epoque"Patti LaBelle January 19923541"Steven Corbin"Steven Corbin May 19923642"Black Lesbian Women in the Wild"(Lisa Mitchell and Titia Ingram) September 19923743"Out of Fashanu"Justin Fashanu December 19933844"Rupaul: Gag on the Calendar"RuPaul January 19943951"Do They Know that the Mayor of Cambridge is Gay?"Kenneth Reeves February 19944052"Mandy Carter Anti-War Activist"Mandy Carter March 19944153"Must Men Who Love Boys Be Guilty?"Michael Jackson
Sister publications The company that published BLK also published several other titles directed to the black LGBT community including Blackfire, an erotic magazine for men; Black Lace, an erotic magazine for women; Kuumba, a poetry journal; Black Dates, a calendar of events in Southern California, and The BLK Guide to Southern California for Black People in the Life. In 1999, the company acquired Mentor, a gay non-black publication focusing on adult intergenerational relationships. Blackfire and Kuumba are still in publication.
External links Alan Bell Collection at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center of Broward County Library
References