Tretter Collection

BLK was a Los Angeles based publication created by graphic designer Alan Bell in 1988. Having previously published Gaysweek for three years in the 1970s, Bell had initially retired from publishing. It wasn’t until the late 80s during the HIV/AIDS crisis that Bell realized there was no major publication by and for the black lgbtq community. Urged by his peers, he started BLK. The magazine published news, arts, culture, comics, and more, often featuring lgbtq stars such as Sylvester, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, and RuPaul for their cover stories.

Filmmaker Marlon Riggs on the cover of BLK, April of 1990. Pulled from the Tretter’s Publication Collection.

In 1982 after the initial emergence of AIDS in New York, Minnesota activist Bruce Brockway was the first person in the state diagnosed with the disease. In 1983, Brockway with a handful of other gay community members formed the Minnesota AIDS Project (MAP). As a volunteer-run organization, MAP was one of the only organizations to provide education, prevention resources, and services for HIV-positive people and people with AIDS during the AIDS epidemic in the state. By 1985, MAP began receiving state and county funding, shifting a volunteer organization into a staffed non-profit critical to the health needs of the LGBTQ community. They operated with a two-pronged mission, to prevent the spread of the disease and to provide assistance and resources to those diagnosed as HIV positive. They operated a phone hotline to answer questions about the disease, created a buddy system for HIV positive people navigating the healthcare system, and provided workshops and resources on safe s*x. In 2018, MAP merged with to continue advocating for the health needs of the community.

Photo of Bruce Brockway’s partner René Valdes with friends at the Minnesota AIDS Project Pledge Walk, 1988. Pulled from the René Valdes Papers.