BLK Vol. 2 No. 2: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is the 15th issue of BLK magazine, published February 1990. The front cover features a black and white image of Chas. Bennett Brack, co-founder of Lavender Light. Photographed from the chest up, Brack is pictured leaning against a wall while wearing a flat bill hat and long sleeve shirt. At the top and off centered to the left, [BLK] is printed in large, bold, white, uppercase letters within a blue rectangular textbox with [Num] just visible along the bottom. The letters are largely obscured by the image of Brack. There are 44 pages in total, with articles, advertisements, classifieds, black and white photographs, and cartoon illustrations throughout.

The inside cover features an ad for the Minority AIDS Project announcing their program [Say Sister: / A Woman’s / Program]. The content opens with the section entitled [WORD UP] with five short articles: [Ice-T Says Okay to Poof Bashing] where Ice-T tells his Australian audience he approves of violent hate crimes against gay men, [Three Silly Millimeters] about different sized condoms sent to different countries, [People Gotta Hate Someone] where Judy Dlugacz of Olivia Records says the music industry looks down on racism and anti-Semitism but not homophobia, [Essence Lessens] about the November 1989 issue covering the range of experiences of black men but did not include black gay men, lacking the intersectionality as covered by Robert Santiago’s “Black and Latino” in the same issue, and [Real Reid] about Living Colour denouncing Guns N’ Roses for their racist and homophobic song.

This is followed by four letters to the editor in the section [BLK MAIL] and the BLK masthead on page 5.

The cover story, which begins on page 7, is titled [Lavender Light / Gospel choir gives ’em that old-time religion / plus on-time AIDS info] with a label headline [COVER STORY]. Written by Mark Chestnut, the article covers the history, purpose, and growth of “the Black and People of All Colors Lesbian and Gay Gospel Choir.” The founders say the choir grew out of the Men of All Colors Together / New York chapter. There is a black and white photograph and two quotes in a larger font: [“The church is one of the only places where you can be the biggest sissy that ever hit the face of the earth, as long as you don’t say, “I’m gay.’”], and [“We’re not attached to a church because that’s where most of the members ran from in the beginning.”].

A feature story, which begins on page 11, is titled [Where We Stand / The state of black lesbian and gay America at the dawn of the decade]. Written by James Stokes, the article is about the political state of the U.S., homophobia in African American community, and relationships with other marginalized groups.

A second feature story on page 13 is titled [Looking for Love / A feminine perspective on how we enter into / and sustain intimate relationships] by Rev. E. Victoria Lee. The article is about healthy relationships beginning with self-fulfillment.

A third feature store, which begins on page 17, is titled [Brouhaha by the Bay / APEB workers and management trade charges in clash / over professionalism and agency mission] with a label headline [NEWS ANALYSIS]. Written by L. Lloyd Jordan, this article covers the change in management at the AIDS Project of the East Bay after the departure of Larry Saxxon and under the new director, Cleo Manago.

Several shorter articles appear under the [BLK COMMUNITY NEWS] beginning on page 23. These include: [Manager Goes; Owner Dumps Objectionable Items / by Keith Clark], [Stalling Moves Imani] about Rev. George Augustus Stallings Jr. moving the Imani Temple African American Catholic Congregation to a center, [Black Gay Conference, Health Institute to Open] about the Third Annual National Black Gay and Lesbian Conference and Health Institute with 26 education workshops about AIDS, women, and substance abuse, [Lorde Wins $20K Grant Despite Funding Curbs], and [Fashion Designer Pat Kelly Dies on New Year’s / by Mark Haile].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: February 1990
• Published by: Alan Bell, American
• Edited by: Alan Bell, American
• Subject of: Lavender Light, American, founded 1985
• Subject of: AIDS Project East Bay, American, founded 1983
• Subject of: Larry Saxxon, American
• Subject of: Cleo Manago, American, born 1963
• Subject of: Minority AIDS Project, American, founded 1985
• Subject of: Rev. Carl Bean, American, 1944 - 2021
• Type: magazines (periodicals)
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 10 13/16 × 8 1/4 × 1/8 in. (27.4 × 20.9 × 0.3 cm)
• Place made: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Oakland, Alameda County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: San Francisco, San Francisco county, California, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Paris, Île-de-France, France, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Black Press
• Topic: Catholicism
• Topic: Christianity
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Gender
• Object number: 2018.108.15
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Alan Bell
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © BLK Publishing Company, Inc Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.