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Co-Founded Los Angeles' Gay & Lesbian Community Center Brought Sanity & Hospitality to the Dispossessed Everywhere Friends of Morris Kight
"Morris not only inspired events and organizations, he inspired activists through his loving nature. He genuinely loved people, and that permeated everything he did." The long-time Los Angeles resident was born November 19, 1919, in Comanche County Texas. Kight graduated from Texas Christian University. He often cited Eleanor Roosevelt as an influence on his values and his activism. He came to prominence with the Dow Action Committee, protesting weapons manufacturing during the Vietnam War. In 1969, he and a handful launched the Gay Liberation Front - one of the first such efforts. In 1971, he co-founded the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Community Services Center, the first and largest such center in the world. Rarely satisfied with all he had achieved, Kight also created some of the movement's most visible efforts, including:
Last year, after serving twenty years on the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, Morris retired from public service but continued to speak out on behalf of people in need. Most recently he spent his birthday as a witness before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors testifying for better AIDS services. Though most strongly identified with the movement for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, Kight consistently allied his energies with many other progressive causes. He described himself as a laborite, a civil rights advocate, a civil libertarian, and an advocate for all oppressed people. Kight's tireless activism and political savvy made him a rare bridge between the gay grassroots and elected officials at local, state, and federal levels. Though he never ran for office himself, his political insight was frequently sought by those in power and those who aspire to public service. Kight foresaw the advances his work would lead to in a 1971 interview with the Advocate magazine: "Frankly, I'm sure we are going to get our freedom. I see it everywhere: In the marketplace, in the stores, in the homes, in dealing with families, in the kind of attention we get from radio, television and the newspapers. "Still, I realize we're not home yet. We have a long way to go. There are 1,750 arrests in L.A. each month. I weep for each of them. Everyone who's denied a job, I weep for. Everyone who is driven from their homes by a misunderstanding family, I have to offer my love to." Kight spent his final days at Carl Bean House in Los Angeles, a guest of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, one of the many agencies he nurtured and supported. A celebration of his life has been scheduled for Saturday, February 1, at 1 p.m., in the Metropolitan Community Church, 8714 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood 90069. Donations in Kight's memory are being accepted by the non-profit ONE Institute and Archives, which will house and maintain the Morris Kight Collection, at 909 W. Adams Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90007. Friends are invited to stop and leave flowers at West Hollywood's Matthew Sheperd Memorial Triangle -- corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Crescent Heights. A magnolia tree with a plaque honoring Kight has been planted at the triangle. |
Gay pioneer Morris Kight pursued freedom for the community for more than three decades. He died at the age of 83 on Sunday morning.