Charlene Cothran

Charlene E. Cothran is an American journalist and the publisher of the magazines Venus and the defunct Kitchen Table News (not to be confused with the feminist, activist publishing company Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press).

Cothran founded Venus in 1995 in Atlanta, Georgia. Cothran, a former lesbian and gay rights activist, tailored Venus to the interests of LGBT people of African descent, especially African-American lesbians.

Following a religious conversion to Christianity in 2006, Cothran changed the editorial policy of Venus, and began to promote what is popularly called the ex-gay movement through the magazine. Cothran claims that her target audience remains the same. Cothran's abrupt renunciation of her activist political views in favor of evangelical proclamations sparked a campaign by the gay community resulting in the loss of advertising revenue. "Today I am celibate. Again, I don’t say I will never have a man in my life, I’m not saying I will never be married to a man. Who knows what the Lord has in store for me. But there is one thing I can say and one thing I will go on record and say—I will never be entangled with the bondage of lesbianism again."

- April 2007 interview

Cothran went on to form The Evidence Ministry, Inc., an evangelical mission encouraging gays to renounce homosexuality.