アビゲイル・スペンサーのインスタグラム(abigailspencer) - 11月8日 04時29分

Yuri Kochiyama was a lifelong activist, fighting for social justice and human rights from the 1960s until her passing in 2014. Born in 1921 in San Pedro, CA to two immigrants, Kochiyama described her twenty-year-old self as “a small-town gal living comfortably, and totally apolitical.” In 1942 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Kochiyama was incarcerated at Camp Jerome in AR – one of the incarceration camps that held 120,000 Japanese/Japanese American citizens during WWII. Kochiyama cites this as “the beginning of her political awakening.” In 1946, Yuri married Bill Kochiyama, a veteran of the 442nd Regiment. The couple moved to NYC where her political activism would flourish. They had two girls and four boys; most of them would become actively involved in black liberation struggles, the anti-war movement, and the Asian-American movement. Yuri and her family invited many civil rights activists, such as the Freedom Riders, to their home gatherings. They also became members of the Harlem Parents Committee, a grassroots organization fighting for safer streets and integrated education. In 1963, Yuri met Malcolm X and they cultivated a friendship that would strongly influence Yuri’s political career. Yuri had been listening to Malcolm’s speech when he was assassinated while speaking to the Organization of Afro-American Unity members. Yuri’s keen interest in equality and justice led her to work for the sake of political prisoners in the U.S. and other parts of the world. Kochiyama also fought against the racial profiling of Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians post- 9/11. Yuri was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for her tireless struggles against imperialism and racism. Kochiyama’s lifetime illustrates her dedication to solidarity and understanding, as she says, the “togetherness of all peoples.” Kochiyama pushes us to “fight against racism and polarization, learn from each others’ struggle” and “also understand national liberation struggles–that ethnic groups need their own space… But there are enough issues that we all could work on.” When asked the legacy she hoped to leave behind, Kochiyama simply said, “Build bridges, not walls.” #wcw #herstory #timeless

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