LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 20, 2025--
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a remembrance and inurnment for LBGTQ+ legend Morris Kight, who passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 19, 2003, at age 83 after a prolific career that achieved many of the civil rights he sought and fought so valiantly for.
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At the time of passing in 2003, Kight was honored with numerous written tributes, including a thoughtful obituary in the Los Angeles Times and a memorial service at the Metropolitan Community Church. This Saturday, November 22, Kight will be celebrated at Hollywood Forever Cemetery (6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, 90038) after his lifetime of tireless advocacy and action three days after what would have been his 106 th birthday.
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 chemical weapons manufacturing during the Vietnam War. In 1969, he and a handful of activists 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.
“Morris not only inspired events and organizations, he inspired activists through his loving nature,” said Michael Weinstein, who heads the U.S. largest AIDS organization and whom Kight befriended in 1973. “He genuinely loved people, and that permeated everything he did. Twenty-two years later, I fondly remember, miss and appreciate the man and what he taught me and so many others about activism, life and living.”
Rarely satisfied with all he had achieved, Kight also created some of the movement’s most visible efforts, including:
In 2002, after serving twenty years on the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, Morris retired from the Commission, but continued to speak out on behalf of people in need.
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. He often credited the Feminist Movement with greatly inspiring him.
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.”
In 2003, 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. His papers are housed and maintained at the non-profit as the Morris Kight Collection. And at the time of his death, a magnolia tree with a plaque honoring Kight was planted at West Hollywood’s Matthew Shepard Human Rights Triangle – corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Crescent Heights.
In August 2023, after a three-year campaign by AHF and other advocates, the Los Angeles City Council declared Kight’s longtime Los Angeles residence located at 1822 West 4 th Street a Historic-Cultural Monument. The designation provides the home some additional protection, stipulating that the home cannot be moved, protecting it from possible razing for future development. Kight’s former residence at 1428 McCadden Pl. is also a Historic-Cultural monument.
In 2020, a biography of Kight, “Morris Kight: Humanist, Liberationist, Fantabulist – A Story of Gay Rights and Gay Wrongs,” by Mary Ann Cherry was published by Process Media.
Following Saturday’s remembrance and inurnment at Hollywood Forever, a reception honoring Kight will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the AHF Media building in Hollywood (6520 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles., CA 90028).
Morris Kight (L) pictured with Harvey Milk, the slain LGBTQ+ rights leader (and a canine companion), in an undated photo.
LGBTQ+ Pioneer Morris Kight, who died at 83 in 2003, is being remembered, celebrated, and his ashes inurned at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Saturday, November 22, 2025. Kight, who would have turned 106 on November 19th, had a prolific career that achieved many of the civil and LGBTQ+ rights he sought and so valiantly fought for over his lifetime. (Photo: Henning Von Berg)
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Troops from several European countries continued to arrive in Greenland on Thursday in a show of support for Denmark as talks between representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. highlighted “fundamental disagreement” over the future of the Arctic island.
Denmark announced it would increase its military presence in Greenland on Wednesday as foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland were preparing to meet with White House representatives in Washington. Several European partners — including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands — started sending symbolic numbers of troops already on Wednesday or promised to do so in the following days.
The troop movements were intended to portray unity among Europeans and send a signal to President Donald Trump that an American takeover of Greenland is not necessary as NATO together can safeguard the security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.
“The first French military elements are already en route” and “others will follow,” French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday, as French authorities said about 15 soldiers from the mountain infantry unit were already in Nuuk for a military exercise.
Germany will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel to Greenland on Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.
On Thursday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the intention was “to establish a more permanent military presence with a larger Danish contribution,” according to Danish broadcaster DR. He said soldiers from several NATO countries will be in Greenland on a rotation system.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rasmussen added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland” but that dialogue with the U.S. would continue at a high level over the following weeks.
Inhabitants of Greenland and Denmark reacted with anxiety but also some relief that negotiations with the U.S. would go on and European support was becoming visible.
Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the continuation of “dialogue and diplomacy.”
“Greenland is not for sale,” he said Thursday. “Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed from the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”
In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, local residents told The Associated Press they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions than answers.
Several people said they viewed Denmark’s decision to send more troops, and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against possible U.S. military action. But European military officials have not suggested the goal is to deter a U.S. move against the island.
Maya Martinsen, 21, said it was “comforting to know that the Nordic countries are sending reinforcements” because Greenland is a part of Denmark and NATO.
The dispute, she said, is not about “national security” but rather about “the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”
On Wednesday, Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies,” calling it a necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.”
“This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,” Poulsen said.
Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or what role the U.S.-led military alliance might play in the exercises, NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities. However, NATO is currently studying ways to bolster security in the Arctic.
The Russian embassy in Brussels on Thursday lambasted what it called the West's “bellicose plans” in response to “phantom threats that they generate themselves”. It said the planned military actions were part of an “anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda” by NATO.
“Russia has consistently maintained that the Arctic should remain a territory of peace, dialogue and equal cooperation," the embassy said.
Rasmussen announced the creation of a working group with the Americans to discuss ways to work through differences.
“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.
Commenting on the outcome of the Washington meeting on Thursday, Poulsen said the working group was “better than no working group” and “a step in the right direction.” He added nevertheless that the dialogue with the U.S. did not mean “the danger has passed.”
Speaking on Thursday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the American ambition to take over Greenland remains intact despite the Washington meeting, but she welcomed the creation of the working group.
The most important thing for Greenlanders is that they were directly represented at the meeting in the White House and that “the diplomatic dialogue has begun now,” Juno Berthelsen, a lawmaker for the pro-independence Naleraq opposition party, told AP.
A relationship with the U.S. is beneficial for Greenlanders and Americans and is “vital to the security and stability of the Arctic and the Western Alliance,” Berthelsen said. He suggested the U.S. could be involved in the creation of a coastguard for Greenland, providing funding and creating jobs for local people who can help to patrol the Arctic.
Line McGee, 38, from Copenhagen, told AP that she was glad to see some diplomatic progress. “I don’t think the threat has gone away,” she said. “But I feel slightly better than I did yesterday.”
Trump, in his Oval Office meeting with reporters, said: “We’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out.”
Niemann reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland.
Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
People walk on a street in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
From center to right, Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Denmark's Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, rear, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, right, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with senators from the Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the German Air Force taxis over the grounds at Wunstorf Air Base in the Hanover region, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 as troops from NATO countries, including France and Germany, are arriving in Greenland to boost security. (Moritz Frankenberg/dpa via AP)
Fishermen load fishing lines into a boat in the harbor of Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, left, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Senate Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
