Finding aid to the Alan Bell collection, 1984-2015 Coll2022-009

Beth McDonald

ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, University of Southern California

909 West Adams Boulevard

Los Angeles, California 90007

Telephone: (213) 821-2771

askone@usc.edu

URL: http://one.usc.edu

Contributing Institution: ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Title: Alan Bell collection

Creator: Bell, Alan

Identifier/Call Number: Coll2022-009

Physical Description: 1.67 Linear Feet 2 boxes.

Date (inclusive): 1984-2015

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.

Language of Material: English .

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by type.

Biographical Note

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

Conditions Governing Access

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

Conditions Governing Use

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.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Alan Bell, April 2015.

Preferred Citation

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

Processing Information

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

Scope and Contents

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.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

African American gay men

Publishers and publishing

Box 1

BLK 20th Anniversary t-shirt 2008

Physical Description: 1 ItemsWhite XL shirt