Wendy Yoshimura facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wendy Yoshimura
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Yoshimura in 1976
|
|
| Born |
Wendy Masako Yoshimura
January 17, 1943 |
| Occupation | Painter |
| Movement | Symbionese Liberation Army |
Wendy Masako Yoshimura, born on January 17, 1943, is an American artist known for her watercolor paintings. She was also involved with a political group called the Symbionese Liberation Army in the mid-1970s. Wendy was born in Manzanar, which was one of several special camps where Japanese Americans were required to live during World War II. Her family, like many others, was forced to leave their homes and businesses on the West Coast. She grew up in both Japan and California's Central Valley.
During her final year of art college, Wendy became interested in political activism. She met an activist named Willie Brandt, who started a group called the Revolutionary Army in Berkeley, California.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Wendy Yoshimura was born at the Manzanar Internment Camp. Her parents, who were American citizens, were held there during World War II. After the war ended, the Yoshimura family moved to Etajima, a small island near Hiroshima, Japan. Her father worked with the Allied forces who were helping to rebuild Japan. Wendy learned to speak Japanese as her first language.
When Wendy was 13 years old, her family moved back to the United States. Because she didn't speak English, she was first placed in the second grade in Fresno, California. However, she quickly learned English and later graduated in 1969 from the California College of Arts and Crafts, which is now called California College of the Arts.
Joining the Revolutionary Army
Wendy Yoshimura became involved with the Revolutionary Army, a group started by her boyfriend, Willie Brandt. This group made public statements about their actions, which were meant to protest the Vietnam War. In 1972, police found materials in a garage Wendy had rented in Berkeley. These materials were linked to the group's activities. They also found notes about planned actions targeting the University of California, Berkeley campus. Willie Brandt and two other people were arrested in Berkeley in March 1972.
Wendy managed to avoid arrest and left California. She lived under a different name in New Jersey until 1974. Later, in 1977, she was found and faced charges related to having certain materials and items. She was released from parole in September 1980.
Involvement with the Symbionese Liberation Army
In 1974, a married couple, Bill and Emily Harris, along with Patty Hearst, moved to Pennsylvania. The Harrises were original members of the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a group from Berkeley, California. Six of their members had died in a shootout with police in Los Angeles in May 1974. A sports writer and activist named Jack Scott helped these individuals travel east. He also arranged for Wendy Yoshimura to join them to help with daily tasks like shopping.
After two months, Wendy left the group and returned to California, settling in San Francisco. Hearst and the Harrises also made their way back to California and met up again in Sacramento. When the FBI found Wendy's thumbprint at the SLA's hideout, news reports connected her to the group. She then left San Francisco and reunited with the SLA members in Sacramento.
While in Sacramento, some members of the group planned and carried out a robbery at the Crocker National Bank in Carmichael, California. During this event, a bank customer named Myrna Opsahl was killed. According to Patty Hearst's account, she and Wendy Yoshimura did not participate directly in the robbery itself. After the robbery, the group left Sacramento and traveled separately to San Francisco.
Later Events
On September 18, 1975, Wendy Yoshimura was arrested with Patty Hearst in an apartment at 625 Morse Street by FBI agents. During Wendy's legal proceedings, many Japanese Americans who understood her family's experiences during World War II helped raise money for her legal defense. This support came through the Wendy Yoshimura Fair Trial Committee.
Wendy was later released from parole in 1980.
Investigation into Past Events
In 1991, Wendy Yoshimura was given limited immunity to share information during an investigation into the 1975 bank robbery by the SLA in Carmichael, California. This was the robbery where Myrna Opsahl was killed. One SLA member, Michael Bortin, had admitted his involvement in the robbery. No new charges were filed at that time.
However, in 2002, five former SLA members and associates were arrested. Four of them later admitted their involvement in events related to the homicide.
Present Day Activities
Today, Wendy Yoshimura is an artist living in north Oakland, California. She teaches watercolor painting at her studio and at a community center in San Francisco. Her still-life watercolor paintings are often shown in art displays around the Bay Area.
|
