Morris Kight, a Los Angeles human rights activist, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Front, and member of the L.A. County Human Relations Commission, testified before the CWRIC with a call to conscience and action.

• Personal Apology: Opened by apologizing directly to Japanese Americans for not doing enough during WWII, saying that silence itself was a crime. He sought forgiveness for his inaction and urged the nation to join in a collective apology.

• Moral Duty: Declared that “never again” must be more than words. Civil rights groups, churches, government agencies, and communities must actively advocate for redress and guard against racism in all its forms.

• Concrete Reparations: Went beyond symbolism—proposed compensating families at 1981 values for homes, businesses, farms, vehicles, furnishings, and profits lost. Suggested wages be calculated at current minimum or professional rates for the entire period of incarceration.

• Archive Proposal: Called for a $10 million federally funded Japanese American archive in Little Tokyo (near 244 S. San Pedro Street) to preserve testimonies, photographs, poems, camp designs, and artworks. He envisioned it as both a cultural sanctuary and a permanent reminder: never again.

• Living Memory: Moved by photos of pets chasing buses as families were taken away, he reminded the commission that even animals felt the rupture of incarceration.

• Challenge to Congress: Urged the commission not to temper recommendations out of fear of political resistance. Instead, he called for the most moral position possible, with Congress lobbied to provide swift and fair appropriations.

• On Justice: Insisted reparations must not be token gestures—anything less would be “cruel” and would only reopen wounds of injustice.