Yuri Kochiyama facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yuri Kochiyama
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Kochiyama at Central Park anti-war demonstration c. 1968
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| Born |
Mary Yuriko Nakahara
May 19, 1921 San Pedro, California, U.S.
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| Died | June 1, 2014 (aged 93) Berkeley, California, U.S.
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| Education | Compton College |
| Occupation | Civil rights activist |
| Spouse(s) |
Bill Kochiyama
(m. 1946; died 1993) |
| Children | 6 |
Yuri Kochiyama (born Mary Yuriko Nakahara; May 19, 1921 – June 1, 2014) was an American civil rights activist. Her family's experience in an American internment camp, her friendship with Malcolm X, and her strong beliefs in equality shaped her life. She worked for many causes, including the rights of Black Americans, the anti-war movement, and fair treatment for political prisoners. She also fought for Japanese Americans to receive apologies and payments for their time in internment camps.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mary Yuriko Nakahara was born on May 19, 1921, in San Pedro, California. Her parents were Japanese immigrants. Her father, Seiichi Nakahara, was a fish merchant, and her mother, Tsuyako Nakahara, was a piano teacher. Yuri had a twin brother, Peter, and an older brother, Arthur. Her family was well-off, and she grew up in a neighborhood where most people were white.
Yuri went to San Pedro High School and was the first female student to be a student body officer. She also wrote for the school newspaper and played tennis. She finished high school in 1939 and then studied English, journalism, and art at Compton College, graduating in 1941.
Her life changed on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Soon after, FBI agents arrested her father, even though he was very sick. They suspected him because he had photos of Japanese naval ships and was friends with important Japanese people. Her father's health got much worse during his six-week detention, and he died the day after he was released in January 1942.
After her father's death, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. This order forced about 120,000 people of Japanese descent to leave their homes on the Pacific coast and move into special camps across the United States. Yuri, her mother, and her brother were first sent to a converted horse stable at the Santa Anita Assembly Center. Later, they moved to the Jerome, Arkansas internment camp, where they lived for two years.
While in the camp, Yuri met Bill Kochiyama, a Japanese-American soldier fighting for the United States. They married in 1946. In 1948, they moved to New York and had six children. They lived in public housing for twelve years. In 1960, the Kochiyama family moved to Harlem. There, Yuri and Bill became involved with local community groups like the Harlem Parents Committee and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
Activist Life
Yuri Kochiyama met the African-American activist Malcolm X in October 1963. They met during a protest in Brooklyn where construction workers were fighting for jobs. Kochiyama joined his group, the Organization of Afro-American Unity, which worked for the rights of Black people around the world.
She was present when Malcolm X was killed on February 21, 1965, in New York City. A famous photo shows her holding him as he lay dying. Kochiyama also became a mentor to young people involved in the Asian American movement, especially during the time of the Vietnam War protests.
Yuri and Bill Kochiyama worked hard to get apologies and payments for Japanese Americans who were forced into internment camps during World War II. They helped bring the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to New York. Kochiyama also started the Day of Remembrance Committee in New York City. This day remembers when President Roosevelt signed the order that led to the forced removal of Japanese Americans. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, which gave $20,000 to each Japanese American who had been in an internment camp. Yuri used this success to also advocate for payments for African Americans.
In her later years, Kochiyama spoke out against unfair treatment of Muslims, Middle Easterners, and South Asians in the United States. She saw this as similar to what Japanese Americans experienced during World War II.
In 1971, Kochiyama secretly became a Sunni Muslim. She began visiting a mosque in a prison to study and worship.
Kochiyama also taught English to immigrant students and volunteered at soup kitchens and homeless shelters in New York City. She once said, "The legacy I would like to leave is that people try to build bridges and not walls."
Advocacy and Beliefs
Yuri Kochiyama was known for her strong and sometimes complex beliefs. She supported both racial integration (people of different races living together peacefully) and separation (groups having their own communities). She admired leaders like Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh.
Kochiyama supported people she believed were political prisoners or victims of unfair government actions. She worked to help Mumia Abu-Jamal, an African-American activist. She was also a friend and supporter of Assata Shakur, an African-American activist who escaped from prison and received asylum in Cuba. Kochiyama felt Shakur was like a "female Malcolm X."
In 1977, Kochiyama joined a group of Puerto Rican activists who took over the Statue of Liberty. They wanted to bring attention to the movement for Puerto Rican independence. They demanded the release of four Puerto Rican nationalists who had been imprisoned. The activists occupied the statue for nine hours. President Jimmy Carter later pardoned the nationalists in 1979.
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Kochiyama stated her belief that the United States government was the "main terrorist" and "main enemy of the world's people." She felt that the "war on terror" was about the U.S. trying to control the world.
Honors and Recognition
In 2005, Yuri Kochiyama was one of 1,000 women nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2010, she received an honorary doctorate degree from California State University, East Bay.
On June 6, 2014, the White House honored Kochiyama on its website. They recognized her for dedicating her life to fighting for social justice for Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and all communities of color.
In 2014, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center created a digital art exhibition called "Folk Hero: Remembering Yuri Kochiyama Through Grassroots Art" to honor her.
On May 19, 2016, the U.S. Google Doodle celebrated Kochiyama's 95th birthday. This led to both praise and criticism of Kochiyama and Google.
In March 2019, a public art project in Grand Rapids, Michigan, featured Kochiyama. This was part of Women's History Month and International Women's Rights. The artwork was based on the 2015 children's book Rad American Women A – Z.
Death
Yuri Kochiyama passed away on June 1, 2014, in Berkeley, California, at the age of 93.
Media Appearances
- Kochiyama appeared as herself in the TV movie Death of a Prophet — The Last Days of Malcolm X in 1981.
- She was featured in the documentary All Power to the People! (1996).
- The documentary film Yuri Kochiyama: Passion for Justice (1993) is about her life.
- Kochiyama and her husband, Bill, were in the documentary My America...or Honk if You Love Buddha.
- She was also the subject of the documentary film Mountains That Take Wing (2010).
- Her speeches were published in Discover Your Mission: Selected Speeches & Writings of Yuri Kochiyama (1998).
- There is a play about her called Yuri and Malcolm X by Tim Toyama.
- She is also the subject of the play Bits of Paradise and a documentary in production called What did you do in the War, Mama?: Kochiyama's Crusaders.
- The music group Blue Scholars mentions Kochiyama in their album Bayani and has a song named after her in their 2011 album Cinemetropolis.
See also
In Spanish: Yuri Kochiyama para niños
