Where Community Takes Root: A Proud History of Pride in LA
June 4, 2024
Dear Campus Community,
LA Pride unites hundreds of thousands of people across the greater Los Angeles area in a shared embrace of acceptance and unity every June. Our region, a kaleidoscope of the human experience, celebrates the beauty of the LGBTQIA+ community in ways that strengthen and deepen our connections to each other. This intimate and immense celebration — a hallmark of LA — was the brainchild of Morris Kight.
Morris Kight was born in 1919, and raised in the small town of Proctor, Texas. A place then characterized by its staunch traditions and traditional Texan values. A place that pushed Kight, a young gay man, into profound alienation. A place that spurred him to a life of advocacy.
By the end of the 1960s, Kight had become a veteran of many civil rights causes, including the labor movement, the fight for civil rights and the anti-war movement. And yet, he noticed his fellow LGBTQIA+ advocates still lacked resources and support. Determined to change this, he opened his home to those in need, building the community he envisioned around his dining room table.
In the summer of 1969, Kight co-founded the Los Angeles Chapter of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). He placed an ad in the “LA Free Press” and welcomed people from across the city in his backyard, providing a safe space for LGBTQIA+ individuals to socialize, organize and support one another. He offered free one-on-one counseling, facilitated regular support group discussions, helped people out of jail and even created an informal medical clinic for those in need.
In June 1970, seeking to empower his community a year after the Stonewall Riots, Kight set out to organize a parade. While the city tried to create barriers, Kight and the GLF persevered.
Los Angeles’ first permitted “gay pride” parade took place on June 28, 1970. Over thirty groups marched from McCadden Place to Hollywood Boulevard and were greeted by over 30,000 spectators when they turned the corner.
Today, this parade’s crowds continue to grow, and has become what we know as LA PRIDE, which unites nearly 200,000 people together in community each year — sending ripples of hope and inspiration far beyond the borders of LA out across the world.
Kight’s work still resonates as we continue to fight for justice and create a community of acceptance for all at Cal Poly Pomona, in our Los Angeles community and worldwide.
As many members of the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly LGBTQIA+ people of color, continue to face violence, displacement, housing discrimination, and harassment locally, nationally, and globally the importance of building a more just and compassionate world is more important than ever.
Pride Month commemorates years of struggle for civil rights and the ongoing work still ahead of us. Let us continue to champion the legacy of advocates like the late Morris Kight by renewing our support for the LGBTQIA+ community in our own lives and foster networks of acceptance and unity.
I also encourage you to connect with our Pride Center — which remains open during the summer to learn more about the resources and events that take place throughout the year.
I am proud of our Cal Poly Pomona community for championing learning, justice and growth. It is this commitment within us that will shape our world for the better.
Sincerely,
Soraya M. Coley, Ph.D.
President