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