Yuri Kochiyama
Encyclopedia
Yuri Kochiyama is a Japanese American
human rights
activist.
Kochiyama was born Mary Yuriko Nakahara in San Pedro, California. After the attack on Pearl Harbor
in December 1941, Kochiyama's father was imprisoned the same day. Her family, sent to the Jerome War Relocation Center
in Jerome, Arkansas
, were among the 120,000 Japanese Americans interned
during the Second World War. Two of her brothers joined the U.S. Army.
In 1960, Kochiyama and her husband Bill moved to Harlem
in New York City
and joined the Harlem Parents Committee. She became acquainted with Malcolm X
and was a member of his Organization of Afro-American Unity
, following his departure from the Nation of Islam
. She was present at his assassination on February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom
in Harlem, and held him in her arms as he lay dying.
In 1977, Kochiyama joined the group of Puerto Ricans that took over the Statue of Liberty
to draw attention to the struggle for Puerto Rican independence.
Over the years, Kochiyama has dedicated herself to various causes, such as the rights of political prisoner
s, freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal
, nuclear disarmament
, and reparations to Japanese Americans who were interned during the war.
In 2005, Kochiyama was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
through the “1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005” project.
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist.
Kochiyama was born Mary Yuriko Nakahara in San Pedro, California. After the attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
in December 1941, Kochiyama's father was imprisoned the same day. Her family, sent to the Jerome War Relocation Center
Jerome War Relocation Center
The Jerome War Relocation Center was a Japanese American internment camp located in southeastern Arkansas near the town of Jerome. Open from October 1942 until June 1944, it was the last relocation camp to open and the first to close; at one point it contained as many as 8,497 inhabitants. After...
in Jerome, Arkansas
Jerome, Arkansas
Jerome is a city in Drew County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 46 at the 2000 census. During World War II, Jerome was home to a Japanese American internment camp , Jerome War Relocation Center , later converted into a prison camp for captured German soldiers.-Geography:Jerome is...
, were among the 120,000 Japanese Americans interned
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
during the Second World War. Two of her brothers joined the U.S. Army.
In 1960, Kochiyama and her husband Bill moved to Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and joined the Harlem Parents Committee. She became acquainted with Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
and was a member of his Organization of Afro-American Unity
Organization of Afro-American Unity
The Organization of Afro-American Unity was a Pan-Africanist organization founded by Malcolm X in 1964. The OAAU was modeled on the Organisation of African Unity, which had impressed Malcolm X during his visit to Africa in April and May 1964...
, following his departure from the Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
. She was present at his assassination on February 21, 1965, at the Audubon Ballroom
Audubon Ballroom
The Audubon Ballroom was a theatre and ballroom located on Broadway at 165th Street in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, north of Harlem in New York. It is best known as the site of Malcolm X's assassination on February 21, 1965....
in Harlem, and held him in her arms as he lay dying.
In 1977, Kochiyama joined the group of Puerto Ricans that took over the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
to draw attention to the struggle for Puerto Rican independence.
Over the years, Kochiyama has dedicated herself to various causes, such as the rights of political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s, freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia Abu-Jamal was convicted of the 1981 murder of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death. He has been described as "perhaps the world's best known death-row inmate", and his sentence is one of the most debated today...
, nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
, and reparations to Japanese Americans who were interned during the war.
In 2005, Kochiyama was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
through the “1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005” project.
Media
- Kochiyama is the subject of a documentary film in conversation with Angela DavisAngela DavisAngela Davis is an American political activist, scholar, and author. Davis was most politically active during the late 1960s through the 1970s and was associated with the Communist Party USA, the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panther Party...
called Mountains That Take Wing (2009) by C.A. Griffith & L.T. Quan.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1538867/ - Kochiyama appeared as herself in the TV movie Death of a ProphetDeath of a ProphetDeath of a Prophet - The Last Days of Malcolm X is a 1981 made for TV film, written and directed by Woodie King Jr. and starring Morgan Freeman as Malcolm X.-DETAIL:*Direction: Woodie King Jr.*Scenario: Woodie King Jr....
— The Last Days of Malcolm X in 1981. - Kochiyama was the subject of the documentary film, Yuri Kochiyama: Passion for Justice (1999), from Japanese AmericanJapanese Americanare American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
filmmaker Rea Tajiri, and ( African American) filmmaker Pat Saunders. - She and her husband, Bill Kochiyama, were featured in the documentary, My America...or Honk if You Love Buddha by the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña.
- She is the subject of a play, Yuri and Malcolm X, by Japanese AmericanJapanese Americanare American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
playwright, Tim ToyamaTim ToyamaTim Toyama is a playwright and producer. He is Sansei presently living in Los Angeles, CA. He is co-founder of the Asian American media company Cedar Grove Productions, and its sister Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. He attended C.S.U.N...
. - She is the subject of the play Bits of Paradise by Marlan Warren (showcased at The Marsh Theater, San Francisco, 2008), as well as a documentary currently in production, Bits of Paradise: Missives of Hope which focuses on the letter-writing campaign led by Kochiyama during her internment (Producer: Marlan Warren).
- Kochiyama's speeches were published in Discover Your Mission: Selected Speeches & Writings of Yuri Kochiyama (1998), by Russell Muranaka.
- Kochiyama is mentioned in the Blue Scholars' album BayaniBayani (album)- Additional personnel :* Baha'i Healing Prayer on Track 1 chanted by "Amu" Behnam Khoshkhoo.* Trombone on Track 6 by Ben O'Shea, additional vocals by Khingz.* Additional vocals on Track 11 by Rahwa Habte and Semone Andu....
on the title track and has a track titled in her honor in their 2011 album CinemetropolisCinemetropolisCinemetropolis is the third full-length album by alternative hip hop group Blue Scholars. The album was released on June 14, 2011, with a pre-release to fans in mid-May....
External links
- National Women's History Project about Kochiyama
- The Last Revolutionary, by Melissa Hung from the East Bay Express
- Civil Rights Activist Yuri Kochiyama Remembers Her Life from Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
- Yuri Kochiyama in the Freedom Fighters trailer on YouTube
- Bits of Paradise play about Yuri Kochiyama on YouTube
- Documentary in production about Yuri Kochiayama's Crusaders