BLK (magazine)

''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

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 inSouthern 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blk (Magazine)
African-American magazines
Defunct LGBTQ-related magazines published in the United States
Monthly magazines published in the United States
News magazines published in the United States
LGBTQ African-American culture
Magazines established in 1988
Magazines disestablished in 1994
Defunct magazines published in Los Angeles
Free magazines
LGBTQ culture in Los Angeles