Bell (Alan) collection, 1984-2015

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Summary

Title:
Alan Bell collection
Dates:
1984-2015
Creators:
Bell, Alan
Abstract:
Alan Bell is a graphic designer and publisher who founded the BLK Publishing Company and published a series of periodicals specifically for Black gays and lesbians. The collection contains materials from the BLK Publishing Company.
Extent:
1.7 Linear Feet 2 boxes.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] Alan Bell Collection, Coll2022-009, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection, 1984-2015, contains materials from the BLK Publishing Company, including promotional items bearing the company's logo, listings of publications related to LGBTQ and erotic materials, and a scrapbook of nude and erotic photographs from magazines.

Biographical / historical:

Alan Bell is a graphic designer and publisher who began publishing periodicals for Black lesbians and gay men at the urging of Black LGBT AIDS activists and to fill the need for reliable information and communication in Black LGBTQ communities.

Bell published a series of news and erotic periodicals including Gaysweek, Black Jack, Blackfire, Black Lace, Kuumba (a co-sexual poetry journal), Black Dates, and most notably BLK magazine, which ran from 1988 to 1994.

Bell founded BLK Publishing Co., Inc. in 1988 to produce a series of company-owned magazines. They began offering graphic design as a separate service in 1994, and later added other publishing-related services such as copy writing, editing, photography, and print management.

In addition to running BLK, Bell also hosted a monthly safe sex party in Los Angeles for Black men which aimed to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.

References: https://naesminc.org/hall-of-fame/alan-bell/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BLK_(magazine) https://www.blk.com/about.html

Acquisition information:
Gift of Alan Bell, April 2015.
Processing information:

Collection processed by Beth McDonald, 2022. Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the California State Library.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged by type.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Beth McDonald
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-01-08 13:22:11 -0800 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder #, or item name] Alan Bell Collection, Coll2022-009, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Location of this collection:
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007, US
Contact:
(213) 821-2771
askone@usc.edu
Website