H x W x D: 10 13/16 × 8 1/4 × 1/8 in. (27.4 × 20.9 × 0.3 cm)
Type:
magazines (periodicals)
Place made:
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted:
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, North and Central America
Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
Seattle, King County, Washington, United States, North and Central America
San Francisco, San Francisco county, California, United States, North and Central America
San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States, Caribbean, Latin America, North and Central America
Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, United States, North and Central America
San Diego, San Diego County, California, United States, North and Central America
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Latin America, North and Central America
Date:
March 1991
Description:
This is the 28th issue of BLK Magazine published March 1991. The front cover, printed with a lime tint, features a black and white image of Mitchell El-Mahdy. El-Mahdy is pictured sitting at a desk full of documents and a printing calculator. He is dressed in a white, long-sleeve button up with the cuffs rolled to the elbows while wearing a dark colored tie. El-Mahdy’s right arm is raised, holding the paper of the calculator. His left hand, with a watch on the wrist, is under his chin as he pensively looks at the numbers. A calendar page with the date [APRIL 15] slightly obscures the bottom of the letter ‘K’ in the [BLK] text box. At the top and centered off to the left, [BLK] is printed in bold, white, uppercase letters within a lime rectangular box. Above the text box in small, white, uppercase letters it reads [THE NATIONAL BLACK LESBIAN AND GAY NEWSMAGAZINE], fitting across the length of the textbox. Outside of the upper right corner of the [BLK] text box are the news sections listed in black text, [NEWS / CARTOONS / WORD UP / READ MY LIPS / CLASSIFIEDS]. Located below the magazine title in small, black text it reads [Vol. 3, No. 3 / Whole No. 28 / March 1991]. The headlines [Tax Hints / to Save / You Money] and [Black Panther / Huey Newton / on Gay / Rights] is printed in large, black text centered and to the left. There are 48 numbered pages, with articles, advertisements, classifieds, black and white photographs, and cartoon illustrations throughout.
The inside of the cover features an ad for the Minority AIDS project for a free, anonymous, AIDS antibody test [WHAT’S WORSE… / 20 MINUTES OF FEAR AND WORRYING / OR… / A LIFETIME OF FEAR AND WORRYING? / CONSIDER GETTING THE AIDS ANTIBODY TESTED TODAY.]. The content opens with the section titled [Word Up / News of the Outrageous, the Amusing, the Pathetic and the Unexpected] by Leon Miller with six short articles: [BLK Computers] about the Blackship Computer Systems, Inc., [Separate Tables] about Whitney Houston and Robin Crawford, [UK: Yellow and Red Are Black] about the Black Lesbian and Gay Center Project in London’s definition of “Black,” [Brown Student Expelled for Being Anti-Black], [Brothers for Sale] the Black Models Ball auctions Black men as the prizes, and [Homosexuality, Explained] regarding Chuck D from Public Enemy.
This is followed the [BLK] mast head on page 4.
The cover story, which begins on page 7, is titled [Tax Strategies / A few last minute hints for lesbians and gay men / who haven’t yet made peace with the IRS], with a label headline [COVER STORY]. Written by Caesar Rucker, a home-based income tax prepper, the article highlights general information and tax strategies, warning it is not meant to be a substitute for a trained professional. Some of these tips include filing status, earned income credit, social security numbers, child care credit, long form vs short form, owning/operating business, income property among many others with explanation blurbs.
A feature story, which begins on page 11, is titled [Newton’s Law / Historic Black Panther letter tries for coalition / with black lesbians and gay men], with a label headline [HISTORY]. Written by Alycee J. Lance, the article highlights The Gay Liberation Front by focusing on the published anonymous letter in the underground newspaper “The Berkley Tribe”, under the title “Third World Gay Revolution: What We Want.” Like the Young Lords, the organization modeled their manifesto after the Black Panther Party’s Ten-Point Platform and Program. The article dives into the letter penned by Newton in August 1970 calling for a coalition. The letter, the Black Panther Party, and white gay and lesbian spaces are discussed through sub sections titled: The Newton Letter, Newton’s Letter: The Reception, The Coalition, Third World Gay Revolution, and “Where are the gay Black Panthers.” A page-length photo of Huey P. Newton is printed on page 10, the manifesto is printed on page 12, and the letter penned by Newton on page 14.
Several shorter articles appear under the section [BLK NEWS]. Beginning on page 17, these articles include: [500 Attend Nine-Day National Black Conference in Los Angeles; Hill, St. John, Williams, Waters Speak / by Mark Haile] about the Fourth National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Conference dedicated to Ken McCune, Roger V. Pamplin, and Madame Edna Brown, last year’s organizers who passed. Events held include an all-day leadership institute by Phill Wilson and Sabrina Sojourner, 30 workshops made up the main body of the AIDS institute, a women institute organized by Yolanda Whittington and Christine Tripp, readings from “Brother to Brother” a new anthology of writing by Black gay men, Dr. Marjorie Hill as the opening speaker, Keith St. John as the keynote speaker, and the conference co-chairs being Mitchell El-Mahdy and Michelle Walkers, [BWMT/DC Elects Officers] new officers are Herman Sivells, Robert Dingle, Vincent Harries, Joe Califf, Robert Williams, Jim Terrill, Robert Dingle, Vincent Harris and Tom Swift, [AAGLCA Holds Cultural Fest at Crossroads Academy / by Erik Anderson] about the second annual African-American Gay and Lesbian Cultural Festival with four days filled with dance, theater, poetry, performances, and parties, [Study Finds Access to AZT Affected by Race] Rhode Island researchers confirm what AIDS activist have suspected – access to AZT, the only drug approved for treating and preventing AIDS-based infections, [‘Madame’ Robbed, Slain; Cops Hold Prime Suspect] about the murder of the most influential Black trans activist in Atlanta, possibly the county, “Madame” Edna Brown, [AIDS Professionals Find Fault with VA Study that Claims AZT Less Effective For HIV+ Blacks, Latinos] AIDS activists and researchers call out the issues of the Veterans Affairs study], [BLK BORD], [POCAAN Adds Peer Educators, Expands 1991 Budget / by Tripp Hunter] about the People of Color Against AIDS Network, [Study Tracks Risk Behavior Shifts Among Black Men / by Keith Clark] the African-American Men’s Health Project, [New POC Group Forms] in Puerto Rico, the Colectivo de Lesbianas Feministas will host the Third Lesbian Feminist Latin American and Caribbean Conference in 1992, [ACT-UP/Portland Quits] sexist and racist remarks within the organizations, [Cruise, Brooks Take San Diego XIX Court Titles] Scott Cruise and Anita Brooks were crowed Mr. and Miss Gay Black San Diego 1991, [Cops Raid Lesbian Party; Harass Women of Color] about police officers being verbally and physically abusive to the women in attendance, targeting those who did not dress according to traditional gender-specific roles, [Mayor Denounces Gay Conference Set for His City / by Rex Wockner] Gabriel Covarrubias Ibarra, the mayor of Guadalajara, denounces the 13th annual Conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, stating that although the organizations have a right, the city will not be providing any support, and [CDC January Statistics on AIDS Cases in the U.S.].
The emergence of an older section, the calendar of events titled [BLK BOARD] where a list of upcoming events is noted, appears half way through the [BLK NEWS] section on page 23.
This is followed by the section [BLK VEIL] starting on page 33 and lists nineteen obituaries: Ortez Alderson, Kuji Chaaulia, Alan Jerome Clark, Erick “Ric” Stanley Clay, James M. Cotton, Dale M. Diggs, Phillip Fleming Jr., Jeffery Thomas Franklin, Charles Edwin Garner, Ellis B. Haizlip, Darryl Edwards Heard, Henry Lewis Lampley, Dwayne H. McKinley, Kevin J. McClean, Gilbert Price, Michael Roland, Paul Russel, Charles Michael Smith, and Larry Turner. The gossip column titled [Read My Lips] written by Preston G. Guider is on page 34. The issue concludes with the classifieds section [BLK MARKET] starting on page 38, with personal ads divided by gender, nation, then U.S. regions.
The back cover is a full-page advertisement for [The Black Line].
There are several advertisements throughout. These include: [SOMEONE / YOU CAN / TRUST / Culver City / Mazda]; [LIVING WITH HIV] by the American Social Health Association, National Association of People of AIDS, and Burroughs Welcome Co.; [1991 GLAAD / MEDIA AWARDS / BANQUET]; [STOP NOW] by the Open Quest Institute; [Long beach Lesbian and Gay Pride Inc. Presents / 8th Annual / LONG BEACH / LESBIAN AND GAY / PRIDE / PARADE AND FESTIVAL]; [Caribbean / HEAT Magazine]; [INCOME TAX / BIGGER REFUNDS / RUCKER’S / TAX SERVICE]; [THING / SHE KNOWS /WHO SHE IS]; [REACTIONS]; [The more you put the / “word out” about / Black Men’s Dating / Service]; [Black and White / Men Together]; [ACT-UP/LA needs / your input • your leadership • your anger!]; [THE / HOLLYWOOD / SPA / COMPOUND / A MAN’S PRIVATE PRESERVE]; [THE CENTER / LEGAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT]; [A DIFFERENT LIGHT / Gay and Lesbian Literature]; [I’ve always said, / “If I ever got / AIDS, I don’t / know what / I’d do.” / I was right.] ad stating the mission of AIDS Project Los Angeles; [Unity / Fellowship / Church / A Church for All People]; [STUCKER / PHARMACY]; [FOR BLACK GAY & / BISEXUAL MEN / ONLY!] from the African American Men’s Health Project; [GENE’S / AUDIO VIDEO]; [THINK ABOUT IT: / Deciding to take the test. / GMHC]; [The Lesbian and Gay Rights / Chapter of the / American Civil Liberties Union / presents its / April General Meeting / IS IT TIME FOR A CIVILIAN / POLICE REVIEW BOARD?]; [Stonewall Democratic Club / Endorsement Slate Sheet]; [BIJOU VIDEO / Cheap Thrills]; [WELCOME ABOARD SAN DIEGO! / BLACK MEN’S XCHANGE]; [SEX, DATING & INTIMACY / GMHC]; [HOMBRES / ALL LATIN MEN!]; [Visiting The Bay Area?? / GAYBOOK]; BLK subscription ad; [USC / People with cognitive impair- / ment due to HIV infection are / needed for the Phase II study of / Peptide-T…]; [Shanti. / To us, it means “inner peace”. / To you, it could mean finding it.] by L.A. Shanti Foundation, [303-WOLF]; [Serving the Needs / of the People / VISITING NURSE HOMES SERVICES]; [Ms. Vogue: BARBER/STYLIST]; [West Hollywood Presbyterian]; [THE BODY BLACK CALENDAR 1991]; [TWISTED / VIDEO]; [The Pleasure Chest Ltd.]; [HOT / TALKING / PERSONALS! / Connections USA]; two meetings by hosted by GMHC [MEN / MEETING / MEN // EROTICIZING / SAFER / SEX]; [GET A LITTLE… FUN!]; [Get It On With Hot Men / 1-900-463-4MEN]; and [HOT / TALK / ACTION].
