Celebrating Black History Month with LGBT Journalist Greats

This week marks the beginning of Black History Month. NLGJA wanted to take time each week to recognize black members of the LGBT community and the impact on the journalism industry.

Alan Bell  was inducted to the LGBT Journalists Hall of Fame this past year at the Coming Home Convention. He was the first black publisher of a mainstream gay publication, Gaysweek, in 1977, which became one of only three gay weeklies at the time. Gaysweek newspaper came to an end in 1979 when Bell created the monthly newsmagazine BLK. He used this platform to truly advocate and give an accurate depiction of the black LGBT community.

Bell’s work with BLK helped fill a void in news pertaining the LGBT community, especially black Americans, and added a much needed perceptive. In a recent interview with Shift by MSNBC, Bell admits one of his first proud moments for BLK was a cover highlighting the best companies for black gays and lesbians to work for. His contributions are not limited to his journalistic works. He started Black Jack a safer sex club for black gay men in Los Angles, stating that he found it to be, “a more practical version of addressing the AIDS crisis.”

Bell continues his work to this day with non-profit organizations such as the Minority AIDS Project, Magic Johnson Foundation, Black AIDS Institute and the health departments of Los Angles County, Fulton County, Miami and Florida.

"We live in a world compiled of very different individuals whose realities are not all the same." Said NLGJA Executive Director Adam Pawlus, "Journalists like Alan Bell help paint a clear picture of those realities in the LGBT community and adds a much-needed balance. NLGJA is honored to have Alan Bell a part of the LGBT Journalists Hall of Fame and will continue to search for journalists who embody similar qualities."

The Gayly- 2/8/2016 @ 12:20 PM CST