On May 2nd, 2026 the Monrovia Area Partnership unveiled their latest Neighborhood Treasure Monument, a program dedicated to celebrating historically significant Monrovians. The monument is
located at 934 Royal Oaks Drive in East Monrovia, across the street from where the honoree, Kiyoshi Kuromiya, was raised. It was a meaningful event with the entire city council, representatives of the historical community, and family members in attendance.
Of all the people who lived in Monrovia in the past 140 years only one person has been honored with a Google Doodle, and Kiyoshi Kuromiya (1943-2000) is that person. Kiyoshi was a Sansei, a third generation Japanese American, born at the Heart Mountain concentration camp in 1943. After the war his family returned to Monrovia.
At Monrovia High School, Kiyoshi, called 'Steve' by his classmates, excelled academically. He was Vice President of the History Club and received a scholarship to attend the University of Pennsylvania as an architecture major. Once there he became an activist; he joined the Anti-War Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Congress On Racial Equality (CORE), a major group in the Civil Rights Movement.
located at 934 Royal Oaks Drive in East Monrovia, across the street from where the honoree, Kiyoshi Kuromiya, was raised. It was a meaningful event with the entire city council, representatives of the historical community, and family members in attendance.
Of all the people who lived in Monrovia in the past 140 years only one person has been honored with a Google Doodle, and Kiyoshi Kuromiya (1943-2000) is that person. Kiyoshi was a Sansei, a third generation Japanese American, born at the Heart Mountain concentration camp in 1943. After the war his family returned to Monrovia.
At Monrovia High School, Kiyoshi, called 'Steve' by his classmates, excelled academically. He was Vice President of the History Club and received a scholarship to attend the University of Pennsylvania as an architecture major. Once there he became an activist; he joined the Anti-War Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Congress On Racial Equality (CORE), a major group in the Civil Rights Movement.
Click photo to link to source: NBC News article, 3/7/2015 At an early age Kiyoshi realized he was gay. Though not out publicly, this identification inspired him to join activist groups in college. On March 13, 1965 Kuromiya was peacefully marching with a group of high school students to promote voting rights at the State Capital Building in Montgomery, Alabama. He was also marching that day with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and local Civil Rights leader Fred Shuttlesworth. Sheriff’s Deputies and others attacked the group, and Kiyoshi was seriously beaten. At the time there was a news blackout and many thought he had been killed, but somehow he managed to survive the beating.
He continued his activities in Philadelphia, coming out publicly on July 4th of that same year at the Independence Hall. It was the first time in American history that a group of queer people gathered together in public to demand equal rights.
Year after year Kiyoshi Kuromiya engaged in the Civil Rights, Anti-War, and Gay Liberation Movements. After the Stonewall Riots in 1969 he founded the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) in Philadelphia. Kiyoshi was an openly gay delegate at the 1970 Black Panther Convention in Philadelphia, and for his efforts he received support from the Black Panthers for the GLF.
He continued his activities in Philadelphia, coming out publicly on July 4th of that same year at the Independence Hall. It was the first time in American history that a group of queer people gathered together in public to demand equal rights.
Year after year Kiyoshi Kuromiya engaged in the Civil Rights, Anti-War, and Gay Liberation Movements. After the Stonewall Riots in 1969 he founded the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) in Philadelphia. Kiyoshi was an openly gay delegate at the 1970 Black Panther Convention in Philadelphia, and for his efforts he received support from the Black Panthers for the GLF.
For the rest of the 20th Century Kuromiya was an activist. After achieving remission from lung cancer in 1977, Kiyoshi met architect, philosopher and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983). Fuller is best remembered for designing the Geodesic Dome. Kiyoshi co-wrote six books with this 20th century thinker, until Fuller’s passing in 1983.
Kiyoshi Kuromiya was diagnosed with HIV during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. After educating himself on every study he could obtain about the disease, he eventually sat on panels at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There he shared his experiences using medical marijuana to treat nausea and other side effects of the disease. Kuromiya published a newsletter named after a book he co-wrote with Fuller in 1981. “Critical Path,” was a publicly available resource explaining the latest information on HIV/AIDS, and it was distributed
worldwide.
Kiyoshi was the lead class action plaintiff in Kuromiya v. US (1999), arguing that marijuana had medicinal value for people with HIV/AIDS. He lost the case. Kiyoshi Kuromiya passed away in 2000, but his memory lives on. On June 4th, 2022, Kuromiya was honored with a Google Doodle, and in May 2026, the City of Monrovia honored him too.
Many details of Kyoshi’s extraordinary life have been left out of this writing, but fortunately there are many sources which cover his legacy below. The Kuromiya family articles by Susie Ling would be a good place to find out more information on Kiyoshi Kuromiya.
Special thanks to Brennan Beckwith for proof reading this article.
Sources and additional reading:
Kiyoshi Kuromiya was diagnosed with HIV during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. After educating himself on every study he could obtain about the disease, he eventually sat on panels at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There he shared his experiences using medical marijuana to treat nausea and other side effects of the disease. Kuromiya published a newsletter named after a book he co-wrote with Fuller in 1981. “Critical Path,” was a publicly available resource explaining the latest information on HIV/AIDS, and it was distributed
worldwide.
Kiyoshi was the lead class action plaintiff in Kuromiya v. US (1999), arguing that marijuana had medicinal value for people with HIV/AIDS. He lost the case. Kiyoshi Kuromiya passed away in 2000, but his memory lives on. On June 4th, 2022, Kuromiya was honored with a Google Doodle, and in May 2026, the City of Monrovia honored him too.
Many details of Kyoshi’s extraordinary life have been left out of this writing, but fortunately there are many sources which cover his legacy below. The Kuromiya family articles by Susie Ling would be a good place to find out more information on Kiyoshi Kuromiya.
Special thanks to Brennan Beckwith for proof reading this article.
Sources and additional reading:
- Susie Ling. Kuromiya Family of Monrovia, Parts 1 and 2. 2017 & 2020.
- Google Doodle Information from 6-4-2022.
- Google Arts and Culture Link on Kiyoshi Kuromiya
- Juan Michael Porter II. You Should Know This Gay Asian, Civil-Rights, Anti-War, and
HIV/AIDS Activist. The Body - The HIV/AIDS Resource - Time Magazine. The Forrest Gump of Activism Who Helped HIV/AIDS Patients Get Life-Saving Treatment Information, Oct. 2021
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