Chris Iijima facts for kids
Chris Kwando Iijima (born 1948, died 2005) was an American folk singer, teacher, and legal expert. He was a key member of the music group Yellow Pearl. This group also included Nobuko JoAnne Miyamoto and Charlie Chin. Their 1973 album, A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle by Asians in America, was very important. It helped Asian Americans find their identity in the early 1970s. This album was first recorded on Paredon Records, which is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.
Phil Tajitsu Nash, a writer for AsianWeek, said that when people heard Yellow Pearl perform, they realized they had a shared identity and history. Chris Iijima even sang a song from the album on the Mike Douglas Show. This show was co-hosted by John Lennon and Yoko Ono on February 15, 1972.
Iijima also helped start Asian Americans for Action. This was one of the first groups focused on civil rights for Asian Americans in the 1960s. Later, he became a law professor. He wrote about unfair treatment against Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other groups. A movie about his life, A Song for Ourselves, was made by Tadashi Nakamura. It first showed on February 28, 2009. There is also a special fund, the Chris Iijima Fund. It supports different cultures and money matters at the Manhattan Country School. Chris Iijima taught there for ten years.
About Chris Iijima
Early Life and Education
Chris Iijima was born in New York City in 1948. His parents, Takeru and Kazuko Iijima, were both Nisei. This means they were second-generation Japanese Americans. His parents were very active in helping with civil rights for Asian Americans and others. They helped create Asian Americans for Action, which was the first group like it on the East Coast. They also helped form the United Asian Communities Center.
Chris Iijima earned his first college degree from Columbia University in 1969. While he was a student, he took part in the Columbia University protests of 1968. These protests were against the Vietnam War. He can be seen in a famous Life Magazine photo of students. He is wearing a hat, just to the left of Mark Rudd, in the office of the university president. From 1974 to 1984, he taught at the Manhattan Country School.
In June 1988, he earned his law degree from New York Law School. He taught law at several universities. These included New York University School of Law, Western New England College School of Law, and the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.
His Passing
Chris Iijima died on December 31, 2005. He was 57 years old. He passed away from a rare blood disease.
