Description
This is the 41st issue of BLK magazine published March 1994. The front cover is printed in color and features an image of Michael Jackson, who is photographed from the shoulders up against a black backdrop. Jackson is wearing a black coat, a white colored shirt, and a red/purple thin tie. At the top and centered to the left, [BLK] is printed in bold, white, uppercase letters within a light green rectangular box. Outside of the bottom left corner of the [BLK] text box is the magazine issue information; in small, red text it reads [March 1994 / Vol. 5, No. 3 / Whole No. 41 / $2.95 U.S. / $3.95 Canada]. At the bottom and aligned to the left are the news sections listed in blue text, [NEWS / NAMES / CARTOONS / WORD UP / DANCE / MUSIC / BOOKS / BLK TEA / MARKET]. To the right of the [BLK] text box is the magazine headline in red text [Must / Men / Who / Love / Boys Be / Guilty?]. There 40 numbered pages, stapled the center fold, with articles, advertisements, classifieds, black and white photographs, and cartoon illustrations throughout.
The inside of the cover features an ad [A GAY FANTASIA ON NATIONAL THEMES / ANGELS IN AMERICA]. The content opens with the section [WORD UP] by Leon Miller with five short articles: [White Men Can’t Stick it In] about translation of a film, [Nubian: ‘Fuck Up a Faggot’] about Brand Nubian, [No More Rebels at All American], [Gay Street Signs in D.C.], and [Hit at Funerals] about Whitney Houston’s single “I Will Always Love You.”
This is followed by eight letters to the editor in the section [BLK MAIL] on pages 2 and 3, with the [BLK] masthead on page 3. The section [NAMES] is on page 4, covering broad and general news regarding the Black gay and lesbian community. It is divided by city
The cover story, which begins on page 7, is titled [MUST MEN WHO LOVE BOYS / BE GUILTY OF / SEXUAL MISCONDUCT? / A CONSIDERATION / OF THE ISSUES / IN THE / ALLEGATIONS / AGAINST / MICHAEL / JACKSON]. Written by Lee Savage, the article addresses the 1993 child sexual abuse accusations against international singer Michael Jackson, tracing the development of the case throughout 1993 and into 1994.
This is followed by [MUSIC] by D.J. Marius on page 12 with two album reviews: [Jodeci / Diary of a Mad Band / (Uptown/MCA)] and [Queen Latifah / Black Reign / (Motown)]. The section [BOOKS] by Terrance Evans on page 14 discusses various publications, including works by Makeda Silvera, Stephen Lokosky, and Terry L. Jewell. A new section [DANCE] begins on page 16 by Don Thomas and discusses the performance of David Rousseve and his danc company, Reality. Another new section on page 18 is [LAW] by Arlene Zarembka; the article is titled [Debunking the “Minority Status” Lie]. The section [BLK BRIEFS] starts on page 20 and divided by city, providing articles in one or two sentences.
Several shorter articles appear under the section [BLK NEWS] complied by Don Thomas, Eric Washington, Mark Haile, and Alan Bell. Beginning on page 22, these articles include: [‘Town Meeting’ in Washington Is First in Series] about a series of events produced by the Bayard Rustin Alliance, the Gay Spectrum program on Fairfax Channel 10, and Gregory Adams Presents, [Farrakhan Idles Aide Who Called Rustin ‘Sissified’] about Rev. Louis Farrakhan and Khalid Abdul Muhammad, [MACT/Austin Breaks With NABWMT] about the Austin chapter of Men of All Colors Together and the National Association of Black and White Men Together, [‘RuPaul Concert’ Held to Be Scam], [Victim Charges Philly Cops with Foot Dragging] regarding the assault on Kevin Spencer, [White Man Sues Motown in Bias], [African HIV Infection Rate Up in 1993] referencing the eight annual International Conference on AIDS in Africa in December, [Black Man Sues, Claims AIDS Led to His Dismissal] about Shawn Smith, who has AIDS, suing his employer with the case reaching federal courts, and [BGM Is Robbery, Murder Victim] about the murder of Delray Norman Green.
This is followed by [BLK VEIL] on page 28 and lists thirty obituaries: Benjamin Allen, Nathaniel Anderson, Milton Barefield, Paul James Cockrell, Lloyd “Lepercon” Meredith Cordell Credle, Kevin Scot Dickerson, Ira R. Durant, Gary W. Finley, Kevin Freeman, Carl Gray, Willie Franklin Hall, Michael S. Hamilton, Walter W. Hayes, Charles Wayne Hensley, Phillip S. Hicklen, Bryan Ellsworth Hutchins, E.J.D. Johnson, Michael L. Johnson, Kazas “Kaz” Edward Jones, Roy Laurence, Walter Charles Law, Michael Tulloch, Cleo Ladell Washington II, Dennis Jerome Watson, Edward R. Watt, Lester Wilson, and Larry A. Wright. There is a column from the Executive Director of AIDS Project Los Angeles, [From the Desk of / James Loyce].
The gossip column [BLK TEA] written by Preston G. Guider begins on page 28
The issue concludes with the section [BLK MARKET] on page 31 and the classifieds section [TALKING PERONALS] starting on page 32 with personal ads divided by gender, nation, then U.S. states.
The back cover is a full-page advertisement [PRIORITIES] by Dr. Reginald J. Warren INC.
The object came with an insert: a double page, [STATEMENT OF CONSCIENCE] regarding the ROTC programs at UCLA; the flyer can be signed.
There are several advertisements throughout, including: [“When I found / out I was / HIV-positive, / I didn’t know / what to do] for L.A. Shanti’s Positive Living for Us (PLUS); [Services of the Minority AIDS Project]; [ACTIVATE! U.] for the AIDS Project Los Angeles; [Unity / Fellowship / Church / A Church for / All People]; [The Pleasure Chest Ltd.]; [Books / Bohemian]; and [Harold R. / Freudenheim].
