Description
This is the 13th issue of BLK magazine published December 1989. The front cover features a black and white photograph of Sgt. Perry Watkins, wearing a rolled-up stripped long sleeve and jeans while leaning on the door of what is presumably an ROTC recruitment office. There is text decal on the door reading [Be all / you can / be.] with [Junior] across [ARMY ROTC]. There is a circular decal to the right with the text [SERVING / ARMY/ WITH PRIDE]. At the top center of the cover, [BLK] is printed in large, bold, white uppercase letters within a red rectangular box. The date and issue [Number 13, December 1989] are printed below, also in white text. There are 36 numbered pages, with articles, advertisements, classifieds, black and white photographs, and cartoon illustrations throughout the issue.
The inside of the cover features an ad for Minority AIDS Project, [ISN’T IT ABOUT TIME YOUR Choir or Church Group GETS THE MESSAGE ABOUT HIV PREVENTION]. The content opens with the section [WORD UP] with two short articles: [Comedy / According to / Cosby], Dr. William H. Cosby is critical of comedians who use race or sexuality as the punchline when he appeared on Arsenio Hall Show and [Sunday in the / Park with Cops] addressing police harassment at L.A.’s Griffith Park.
This is followed by the calendar of events titled [BLK BOARD], spanning from November 29, 1989 through February 16, 1990. The BLK masthead is on page 5.
The cover story, which beings on page 7 and ends on page 16, is titled [Sgt. Perry Watkins / “Little black nellie queen” takes on the United States Army / —and wins] with a label headline [COVER STORY]. Written by Gary Atkins, Sgt. Watkins shares how the military was initially accepting of his sexuality before suddenly changing their stance. Five quotes from the article are printed in a larger font, along with a photo of Sgt. Watkins in his dress blues: [He came to the box asking whether he had any homosexual tendencies. Watkins very carefully checked “Yes.”], [“I wasn’t taking a stand against the Army. I was being honest, that’s all.”], [“I quit relying on the system to deal with something the system refused to deal with. I’d simply go in and tell people, ‘I’m gay. You leave me the hell alone. You mess with me and I’ll beat the shit out of you.’”], [With the knowledge and encouragement of his commanders, Watkins began applying his talents in performing to become an Army drag-queen star.], and [It was the first time a federal appeals court had found such sweeping constitutional protection for the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans.].
A feature story on pages 17 and 18 is a tribute [Mabel Hampton / Black lesbian octogenarian activist, / co-founder of Lesbian Herstory Archives, dies at 87.]. Written by Mark Haile, it highlights Mabel Hampton’s legacy in the New York lesbian and gay community. The article is accompanied by four photos of Hampton and a quote from the article printed in a larger font, [“Well, I must have come / out when I was eight / years old. To tell the / truth, I was never in, / so I must have been out!”].
Several shorter articles appear under the [BLK COMMUNITY NEWS] section. This includes: [Keith St. John Becomes First Openly Gay Black Man to Win Elective Office in the United States], [GGB Says One Gay Killed Every 10 Days in Brazil] about Grupo Gay de Bahia, the oldest association for the defense of human rights for gay people in Brazil, [S.F. AIDS Agencies Still Recovering from Quake / by Mark Haile] likely referring to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, [New Org Forms in N.Y.] about the Gay African Americans of Westchester, [Ohio Holds Conference on Minority AIDS Issues] about Ohio’s Racial and Ethnic Communities: Educated, Empowered and Active in the Fight Against AIDS, [Program, Stipend for Writers of Color Created] the Loft Literary Centers’ program called “Inroads: Writers of Color” for Black, Latino and Native American communities, [ACT-UP Plans Two-Day Demonstration in Atlanta], [Watkins Speaks at NGLTF ‘Creating Change’ Meet / by Belinda Rochelle] at the second annual National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Conference, [Gerald, Williams Travel to Protest at AIDS Day], [Sylvia Rhue to Appear at Atlanta Conference] Rhue along with other African American lesbian and gay artists and writers will attend the National Black Gay and Lesbian Conference in February 1990, [Navy Man Acquitted of Charges in San Diego], [Chris Brownlie Succumbs After Long AIDS Battle] about the partner of Phill Wilson who was active in gay, lesbian, and AIDS activism in LA, and [Jewell, Byrd Plans New Black Lesbian Journal] about Terri Jewell and Stephanie Byrd creating a black lesbian literary anthology.
Section [BLK VEIL] starts on page 26 and lists four obituaries: Elray Sanders Andrews, Thomas Peace, Kelly Preston Sylvester, and Eric Wesley Wilson. This is followed by the section [Book News] by Mark Haile, which provides the reader with an extensive list of books written by gay and lesbian authors, and the gossip column [Read My Lips] by Preston G. Guider. The issue concludes with the classifieds section titled [BLK MARKET], with the personal ads split by U.S. regions.
The back cover is a full-page advertisement [HAPPY HOLIDAYS / Jewel’s Catch One].
There are advertisements throughout, including: [AIDS Project, Los Angeles,] with a list of services, [The New Horizon / INVITES YOU TO A GALA / AFFAIR], [Third Annual / National Black Gay and Lesbian Conference / and Health Institute] sponsored by Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum; Hosted by African American Lesbian and Gay Alliance, [Hot, Horny & Healthy! / a Fun, Safer Sex Playshop] an AIDS prevention program, [the BFP TEE], [WE CARE ABOUT THE GAY AND LESBIAN COMMUNITY / VISITING NURSE HOMES SERVICES], [SOUND SERVICE CO.], [970-WOLF], [976-CAMP], [Unity Fellowship Church / A Church for All People], [A DIFFERENT LIGHT / Gay and Lesbian Literature], [Choices / Books and Music], [MIDTOWNE SPA], [FOR BLACK GAY & / BISEXUAL MEN ONLY!] from the African American Men’s Health Project, [MOROCCO], [CAPER ROOM], [The Pleasure Chest Ltd.], [CHIRON RISING], and [the Body Black Calendar 1990].
