BLK (magazine)
Encyclopedia
BLK was a monthly American
newsmagazine
, similar in format to Time
and The Advocate
, which targeted its coverage of people, events and issues to African American LGBT
readers.
Published in Los Angeles
, the magazine was initially distributed free 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 enlarged 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 (always capitalized) took its name from the standard abbreviation used in U.S. personal ads for "black," i.e. a person of sub-Saharan racial descent.
for three years in New York City
during the late seventies
, was urged to start a news periodical for black lesbians and gay men by black LGBT AIDS activists such as Phill Wilson
. But at first he resisted renewing a commitment to professional publishing
. Bell had, however, founded Black Jack, a black gay men's safer sex
club
, in Los Angeles
. It was not long before the dearth of reliable information in print about African American LGBTs and about the HIV
crisis among them evoked his efforts to fill an unmet need. Eventually he concluded that the natural next step from the eight-page newsletter he found himself 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
, Onyx
, 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 throwaway in 1988, it had grown to 40 pages with glossy color covers, paid circulation, and national product advertising by the time it ceased publication in mid-1994.
cover (a muscular black man clad only in the traditional Santa
's hat and whiskers, shown with the magazine's coyly-placed logo
), subsequent covers usually pictured a prominent African American LGBT featured in the "BLK Interview" or photographically 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); Carl Bean, founder of the Minority AIDS Project and of the Unity Fellowship Church (July 1989), Black AIDS Institute founder Phill Wilson
(October 1990); Amassi and BMX founder Cleo Manago (March 1990); documentary-maker Marlon Riggs
(April 1990); and Marjorie Hill, CEO of Gay Men's Health Crisis
(August 1990).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
newsmagazine
Newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of paper, magazine or a radio or television program, usually weekly, featuring articles or segments on current events...
, similar in format to Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
and The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
, which targeted its coverage of people, events and issues to African American LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
readers.
Published in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, the magazine was initially distributed free to local black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
establishments frequented by lesbians and gay men
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
, but distribution rapidly expanded to nearly all LGBT venues in Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles Area
The Greater Los Angeles Area, or the Southland, is a term used for the Combined Statistical Area sprawled over five counties in the southern part of California, namely Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Ventura County...
. Its early coverage of the local black LGBT scene soon enlarged to a nationwide and international focus, and eventually to national and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
distribution.
Sub-titled "The National Black Lesbian and Gay Newsmagazine," with the motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
"where the news is colored on purpose", BLK (always capitalized) took its name from the standard abbreviation used in U.S. personal ads for "black," i.e. a person of sub-Saharan racial descent.
History
Alan Bell, an African American graphic designer who had published GaysweekGaysweek
Gaysweek was New York City's first mainstream weekly lesbian and gay newspaper. It was founded by Alan Bell in 1977. Gaysweek began as an 8-page single-color tabloid and when it ceased publication in 1979 after 104 issues, it had grown to a 24-page two-color publication. Its monthly arts...
for three years in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
during the late seventies
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
, was urged to start a news periodical for black lesbians and gay men by black LGBT AIDS activists such as Phill Wilson
Phill Wilson
Phill Wilson founded the Black AIDS Institute in 1999 and is a prominent African-American HIV/AIDS activist. Wilson is himself both gay and HIV-positive...
. But at first he resisted renewing a commitment to professional publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
. Bell had, however, founded Black Jack, a black gay men's safer sex
Safe sex
Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions...
club
Sex club
Sex clubs are either groups that organize sex related activities or an establishment where patrons can engage in sex acts with other patrons. A sex club differs from a brothel in that, while sex club patrons typically pay a fee to enter the club, they have sex with other patrons rather than with...
, in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. It was not long before the dearth of reliable information in print about African American LGBTs and about the HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
crisis among them evoked his efforts to fill an unmet need. Eventually he concluded that the natural next step from the eight-page newsletter he found himself 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
Hard News
Hard News: The Scandals at The New York Times and Their Meaning for American Media is a 2004 book by journalist Seth Mnookin about the reign of Howell Raines at The New York Times.Mr...
alternative to the infotainment
Infotainment
Infotainment is "information-based media content or programming that also includes entertainment content in an effort to enhance popularity with audiences and consumers." It is a neologistic portmanteau of information and entertainment, referring to a type of media which provides a combination of...
-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
Ebony (magazine)
Ebony, a monthly magazine for the African-American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has published continuously since the autumn of 1945...
, Jet
Jet (magazine)
Jet is an American weekly marketed toward African-American readers, founded in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois...
, Onyx
Onyx (comics)
Onyx is a DC Comics fictional character. She is a superhero based in Gotham City and an ally of Batman. She is highly trained in martial arts and serves as a member of the League of Assassins before reforming and becoming a vigilante....
, Sepia
Sepia (magazine)
Sepia, a photojournalistic magazine styled like Look and sometimes compared to Ebony, featured articles based primarily on the achievements of African Americans. It was published in Fort Worth, Texas by Good Publishing Company , owned and operated by George Levitan, who was not black himself...
). 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 throwaway in 1988, it had grown 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 beefcakeBeefcake
Beefcake is a term denoting the use of nude or semi-nude male bodies. It can refer to a genre or a person. It often is used to denote male sexual attractiveness stemming from physical build but the definition has expanded to include anyone interested in physical fitness, bodybuilding and weight...
cover (a muscular black man clad only in the traditional Santa
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
's hat and whiskers, shown with the magazine's coyly-placed logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
), subsequent covers usually pictured a prominent African American LGBT featured in the "BLK Interview" or photographically illustrated a theme
Theme (arts)
In the visual arts, a theme is a broad idea or a message conveyed by a work, such as a performance, a painting, or a motion picture. This message is usually about life, society or human nature. Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a work. Themes are usually implied...
of the month.
Among those interviewed were singer Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...
(August 1990); porn
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
star Randy Cochran (March 1989); poet Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde was a Caribbean-American writer, poet and activist.-Life:...
(April 1989); Carl Bean, founder of the Minority AIDS Project and of the Unity Fellowship Church (July 1989), Black AIDS Institute founder Phill Wilson
Phill Wilson
Phill Wilson founded the Black AIDS Institute in 1999 and is a prominent African-American HIV/AIDS activist. Wilson is himself both gay and HIV-positive...
(October 1990); Amassi and BMX founder Cleo Manago (March 1990); documentary-maker Marlon Riggs
Marlon Riggs
Marlon Troy Riggs was a gay African-American filmmaker, educator, poet, and gay rights activist. He produced, wrote, and directed several television documentaries, including Ethnic Notions, Tongues Untied, Color Adjustment, and Black Is. ....
(April 1990); and Marjorie Hill, CEO of Gay Men's Health Crisis
Gay Men's Health Crisis
The Gay Men's Health Crisis is a New York City-based non-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based AIDS service organization that has led the United States in the fight against AIDS.-1980s:...
(August 1990).
Complete list of cover stories
| Date | Whole | Vol. | No. | Cover Story | Cover Person |
| December 1988 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Santa Claus | |
| January 1989 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Remembering Sylvester | Sylvester |
| February 1989 | 3 | 1 | 3 | J'ai,The Lady Sings the Blues | J\'ai |
| March 1989 | 4 | 1 | 4 | Randy Cochran | Randy Cochran |
| April 1989 | 5 | 1 | 5 | Oh, Lorde | Audre Lorde |
| May 1989 | 6 | 1 | 6 | Talking about Ayofemi | Ayofemi |
| June 1989 | 7 | 1 | 7 | It Happened to Me | Roger V Pamplin, Jr. |
| July 1989 | 8 | 1 | 8 | Rev. Carl Bean | Carl Bean |
| August 1989 | 9 | 1 | 9 | James Baldwin | James Baldwin |
| September 1989 | 10 | 1 | 10 | Working Inside | Keith C. St. John |
| October 1989 | 11 | 1 | 11 | Black and Not Gay | Rev. George Stallings, Jr. |
| November 1989 | 12 | 1 | 12 | The Many Faces of Jewel | Jewel Williams |
| December 1989 | 13 | 1 | 13 | Sgt. Perry Watkins | Sgt. Perry Watkins |
| January 1990 | 14 | 2 | 1 | Job Discrimination | |
| February 1990 | 15 | 2 | 2 | Lavendar Light | |
| March 1990 | 16 | 2 | 3 | Cleo Manago | Cleo Manago |
| April 1990 | 17 | 2 | 4 | Marlon Riggs | Marlon Riggs |
| May 1990 | 18 | 2 | 5 | Volunteerism | |
| June 1990 | 19 | 2 | 6 | Barbara Smith | Barbara Smith |
| July 1990 | 20 | 2 | 7 | Pride at Home | |
| August 1990 | 21 | 2 | 8 | Climbing the Hill | Dr. Marjorie Hill |
| September 1990 | 22 | 2 | 9 | Audre Lorde | Audre Lorde |
| October 1990 | 23 | 2 | 10 | Phill Wilson | Phill Wilson |
| November 1990 | 24 | 2 | 11 | The Road to Michigan | |
| December 1990 | 25 | 2 | 12 | All in the Family | Ivy Young |
| January 1991 | 26 | 3 | 1 | Clauras and Wendies | |
| February 1991 | 27 | 3 | 2 | Heading for Home | James Cleveland |
| March 1991 | 28 | 3 | 3 | Tax Strategies | |
| April 1991 | 29 | 3 | 4 | No Peace | |
| May 2009 | 30 | 3 | 5 | Has Winnie Lost It? | Winnie Mandela |
| June 1991 | 31 | 3 | 6 | Joe Simmons | Joe Simmons |
| July 1991 | 32 | 3 | 7 | High Risk, Low Priority | |
| August 1991 | 33 | 3 | 8 | Young, Gifted and Fierce | Love Stories |
| October 1991 | 34 | 3 | 9 | La Belle Epoque | Patti LaBelle |
| January 1992 | 35 | 4 | 1 | Steven Corbin | Steven Corbin |
| May 1992 | 36 | 4 | 2 | Black Lesbian Women in the Wild | |
| September 1992 | 37 | 4 | 3 | Out of Fashanu | Justin Fashanu |
| December 1993 | 38 | 4 | 4 | Rupaul: Gag on the Calendar | Rupaul |
| January 1994 | 39 | 5 | 1 | Do They Know that the Mayor of Cambridge is Gay? | Mayor Ken Reeves |
| February 1994 | 40 | 5 | 2 | Mandy Carter Anti-War Activist | Mandy Carter |
| March 1994 | 41 | 5 | 3 | Must Men Who Love Boys Be Guilty? | Michael Jackson |