Newsletter april 2000 Page 1

A Candid Conversation with Gay Legend Morris Kight

Andre' T.

On December l3, l999, I visited Mr. Morris Kight in his residence in Hollywood Hills. We had a wonderful time talking about our past and recent events. After much reminiscence, I conducted an interview with him, which is of interest to CRA members:

Q Andre Ting: I know that you have being a human rights advocate for a long, long time. Did you first start your activism in Texas?

A Morris Kight: Yes, I did. As a child, I was different from anybody else. I was literate, and I spoke clearly, brilliantly, and thoughtfully. I read poetry and I wrote poetry. I started developing a philosophy of social positions. In l936 my mother and I were partners in a roadside food stand. An African American family came by and said, " We've driven all across this country and nobody would serve us. We're very hungry. Would you serve us?" I said to them, " Sit down, sit down." I knew the mixing of the races was a violation of the law. But I served them anyway. A couple came and saw us and told the sheriff. I was detained. [But] I was proud of my first act of civil disobedience.

Q Andre Ting: I've always admired your altruistic attitude and actions. You truly care about the common people. What first inspired you and molded your philosophy and vision?

A Morris Kight: Well, it came from people like Mahatma Gandhi and Rosa Parks and a movement. And yes, I relate to the common people. You see, my destiny is to make everyone share in the earnings, the learning, the being, and the establishing. Everybody should have food and a home. So my goal is to lift up the downtrodden.

Q Andre Ting: Why do you believe that workers, Latinos and other minorities, and gays and lesbians can work together to achieve their common goal or goals?

A Morris Kight: Well, we can, and we should, and we must. I work towards that. All the organizations I founded have been co-gender, men and women together, emphasizing the inclusion of people of color. I have recognized that Asian and Pacific [people] have been fully thrashed in our society. It was the Chinese Exclusion Act of l922 when Chinese couldn't buy properties and couldn't get citizenship. I thought that was wrong. I thought that locking the Japanese [Americans] away was wrong. I thought that treating Latinos as inferior was wrong. So I have been working towards an inclusive society, and I have been successful in doing that.

Q Andre Ting: I know that " the Morris Kight collection" is gay history in art in LA. What are your plans for this collection?

A Morris Kight: The collection has a tax-exempt status. It has savings. We have $30,000. We don't owe a dime to the world. My plans in June are to exhibit in West Hollywood in a massive showing. We'll have everybody coming, the Getty, the UCLA, etc. We have a support group [for the collection], but I'd like to have a much larger support group. I want to say to people, "Look, I built it. I don't own it. I've given it to the community. Now you go and get it into a building and exhibit it, and have studios and have art classes, like you, Andre', you conducted art classes in my place [on McCadden Place].

Q Andre Ting: What advice would you give (to) the young gay rights advocates and activists of today?

A Morris Kight: Well, come out! My first advice is to come out. I say that because not everyone is out. There are still people hesitant to proclaim their gayness or lesbianism or transgenderism or their bisexualism. There are still people hovering. So get out, get out of the closet, proclaim yourself, and commence the process of being free. Learn one that you are gay and lesbian and so on. Secondly, being gay is a good thing for us; it's a gift, and build on it. Get a job, get a credential, a formal training, a house. Think of yourself as BEING: I'm being OK, I'm being good, I'm being gay. Build on that and through that we're building a community. It's not perfect, but we can get there.

Q Andre Ting: Finally, what roll can Asian gay rights advocates play in the struggle of complete equality of gay and lesbian people in this country and in the world?

A Morris Kight: A wonderful question. I think that possibly the most unique people on planet earth are the Asian pacific. I say that with a lot of deliberation, because Jews are extraordinarily unique. Gays and lesbians are extraordinarily unique. The Asian Pacific people represent the most unique talent pool that we have. Because Asian Pacific is broad, is from Asia Minor, and goes across the largest continent through Palestine, Pakistan and India, to China, Japan, and the Philippines. I'm describing people who are vastly different from one another. They have the richest cultures of the world. Many Asians are artistic, Asian men are into fish and ponds, trees, gardens, and flowers. There is a component in Asian men that doesn’t exist in other men. And that then is a great resource [for this country]. We have among us an untapped and ignored culture of Asian Pacific people, and as quickly as we bring them into the majority community, we'll all be richer and better off.

Q Andre Ting: Thank you very much for the interview.

A Morris Kight: It has been a pleasure.°

Morris Kight

We almost saw the Queen!

By LZ

Rick and I vacationed in England for ten days in March. We stayed in London for five days before going on to Scotland. It was a fun-filled trip and we thoroughly enjoyed the historical sites, awesome palaces, numerous museums, and bustling street scenes England can offer. Following is a short guide of the gay scene in London.

Most travelers will find London's gay scene more convenient, more accessible and more tolerated than in the state. Not even the roughest tattooed skinhead is likely to so much as sneer when you stroll by hand-in-hand with your mate. Integration and a general acceptance of all types has long been the norm on this rather isolated island, and given all the resulting gentility, you may think you've stumbled into an entirely gay country. Yet the Brits are a curious lot. All that queuing up, reserve, politeness, stiff-upper-lip-looking-the-other-way that seems to be a national imperative goes out the door once the boys and girls step foot in a club or disco. Restraining all those wild impulses behind a genteel facade is hard work. Spilling out of pubs, in basement clubs, in warehouse discos and even at summer park fairs, you are likely to have some of the most rollicking, sweaty, unbridled good times you've ever had! Despite the number of now-traditional gay bars, hotels and restaurants in Earl's Court, it is Soho that’s fast usurping the pink village title as the trendiest and most central gay neighborhood. The gay street (Old Compton Street) is only a couple of blocks away from the Chinatown-a very convenient combination. All this said, the northern hamlets of Islington, Camden and Hampstead and the ethnically mixed area of Brixton south of the Thames are also worth a visit – simply because there are less touriss there and are where many gays and lesbians live (and also play).

Gay/lesbian nightlife in London is renowned for its diversity. From rubber “gummi-bear” nights to preppy “high-tea dances,” London sports a club, pub, disco or even temporary basement venue for every proclivity and kink. But figuring out just where to go on any given night can be confusing. G.A.Y. (157 Charing Cross Rd., SoHo, WC2) is claimed to be the biggest gay dance venue in Europe-you simply must go. Heaven (The Arches, Villiers Street, WC2; +171/930-9604; 10pm-3:30am, Wed-Sat) still holds its own as one of the largest gay disco in Europe, with a variety of popular theme nights including Fruit Machine (Wednesdays – mixed gay), Garage/House (Fridays – if you don't know what it is, you won't like it) and Heavenly (Saturdays – mixed men & women). Recently refurbished but still combining vast floor space with the authentic “haunt” atmosphere, this is a place which both Londoners and visitors can claim as their own. Long Yang Club opens on Sundays (8pm - 1am) for gay Asians and their Friends.