Colin Murphy, co-founder of 鈥� a queer publication focusing on the bistate region 鈥� died on Feb. 22 after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 53.
Boom Magazine was founded by Murphy and his husband, R. Kurt Ross, to fill a gap in queer publications in the region. Murphy鈥檚 intention was to create a platform for queer news and politics along with entertainment and the arts.
鈥淭here was a real chasm between an emphasis on celebrity and fashion and those of us who wanted that but also hard news,鈥� said Joan Lipkin, artistic director of That Uppity Theatre. She told St. Louis on the Air: 鈥淢urphy really understood that we had to tell the stories of our community, because these stories were not necessarily going to be covered in mainstream media. And it鈥檚 really important to have identity-specific publications.鈥�
James Lesch met Murphy while interning at Vital Voice, another St. Louis queer publication, in 2010. He remembers his friend as one of the first queer mentors he looked up to. For Lesch, Murphy was a source of queer activism, history and joy.
鈥淎s a young queer person, one of the first memories I have with Colin is going to Springfield, Illinois, for a rally and getting out of the car like, 鈥極K, now what?鈥欌�� Lesch said. 鈥淗e had to help me understand that we鈥檙e here to take up space. We鈥檙e here to make ourselves seen and heard. At that point in my life that alone was radical to me. Just standing in the street and acknowledging our existence collectively was powerful.鈥�
Fellow magazine co-founder Colin Lovett worked alongside Murphy as journalists and activists. He said despite his friend鈥檚 coming of age during the AIDS crisis and fight for marriage rights, Murphy remained positive and could be counted on to 鈥渟how up.鈥�
鈥淸Murphy] was about going to the events in the [LGBTQ] community 鈥� and then later being the LGBTQ journalist in the room asking the tough questions and holding the powerful accountable,鈥� Lovett said. 鈥淗is struggle didn鈥檛 end with the AIDS crisis. He lost his husband to COVID and did so in isolation. He, throughout his entire life, faced monumental struggle [and he] was a beacon of just setting an example of how to persevere with joy and seeing the positive side of things.鈥�
For more about the life and career of Colin Murphy, his love for drag performances and musical theater and which songs remind Joan Lipkin, James Lesch and Colin Lovett of their friend, listen to St. Louis on the Air on , or , or by clicking the play button below.
Related Event
What: Colin Murphy鈥檚 Public Celebration of Life
When: March 24
Where: Just John Nightclub (4112 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110)
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by , , , and . Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is . Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
