countessofleslandia: Yuri Kochiyama Often in the discussion of civil rights history, Asian-American

countessofleslandia:

Yuri Kochiyama

Often in the discussion of civil rights history, Asian-Americans are overlooked.  Let’s reverse that trend and learn a little bit about Yuri Kochiyama.  The disappearance of her father following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and her subsequent imprisonment in a Japanese internment camp inspired a lifetime of human rights activism and scholarship. She met her husband, Bill Kochiyama, while “interned” in Jerome, Arkansas.

In 1960, she relocated to Harlem, where she became familiar with the one and only Malcolm X.  She has advocated on behalf of Puerto Rican sovereignty, peace movements, the rights of political prisoners, and nuclear disarmament.

Author Diane Fujino does Kochiyama significantly more justice in her NPR Brief.

For her whole story, check out Heartbeat of Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Yuri Kochiyama

Kochiyama was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, as if she couldn’t get any cooler.

This interview is also amazing