![]() ![]() Kochiyama also became well known for her behind-the-scenes work. Known as “Grand Central Station” or the “Revolutionary Salon," Kochiyama's apartment in Harlem became a crossroads for activists, artists, and intellectuals. But you couldn’t help notice the inequities, the injustices. “I didn’t wake up and decide to become an activist. In December 1960, they moved into the Manhattanville Housing Projects in Harlem. Living and working in Harlem exposed them to the Black and Puerto Rican communities’ struggles for freedom, which sparked Kochiyama’s interest in civil rights activism. The Kochiyamas moved to the Amsterdam Houses near Lincoln Center in New York City. Yuri and Bill Kochiyama married in 1946. During their 47-year marriage, they raised six children and supported several activist causes. In this new context, she gained a new understanding of race that she did not have in California. ![]() Army 442nd Regimental Combat Team to escape the confinement site and prove his patriotism. Working at the USO in Hattiesburg, Yuri witnessed Jim Crow segregation for the first time. The USO Center provided programs and entertainment for active-duty service members at Camp Shelby Army Base. There, she met William “Bill” Kochiyama. Because Bill was Japanese American, he was incarcerated in Topaz, Utah. In 1944, Kochiyama volunteered to work at an all-Japanese, segregated United Service Organizations (USO) Center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, so that she could get out of the incarceration site in Jerome. Despite her confinement, Kochiyama urged other incarcerees to write letters of support to Japanese American soldiers serving in the U.S. For most of the war, they were incarcerated at a confinement site in Jerome, Arkansas. In her diary, Kochiyama maintained a positive outlook, but also described the anger of other incarcerees and her exposure to racism. Soon after, the government temporarily detailed Kochiyama's family at the horse stables at the Santa Anita racetracks near Los Angeles, California. He died within one day of returning home. When Kochiyama's father was released six weeks later, his health had deteriorated rapidly. Later on December 7, the FBI arrested Kochiyama’s father and other first-generation Japanese Americans as “national security threats.” Although he was recovering from a recent ulcer surgery, the authorities refused to provide medical treatment. This presidential act forced Japanese Americans to relocate to incarceration sites, even if they were American citizens. Fearful that Americans of Japanese descent would side with the Japanese, President President Franklin D. Congress quickly declared war on Japan and the U.S. Her life changed after Japan bombed the American naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawai‘i on the morning of December 7, 1941. Her parents were first-generation Japanese immigrants. As a child and young adult, Kochiyama was active in her school and community. ![]() Yuri Kochiyama was born Mary Yuriko Nakahara on May 19, 1921. government, including foreign adversaries like Osama bin Laden. With awareness of Kochiyama's controversial stances, this article recognizes her activism in the struggles for rights for people of color. Many people have criticized her admiration for figures who challenged or opposed the U.S. When is it necessary to challenge the status quo? What would drive you to do so?Īctivists are people who want to challenge the status quo. They often face backlash and resistance. As a radical activist, Kochiyama supported many controversial causes. government forcibly removed her and her family to an incarceration site for Japanese Americans. For fifty years, Kochiyama spoke out about oppressive institutions and injustice in the United States. Her activism supported the liberation and empowerment of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Puerto Ricans. She also advocated for nuclear disarmament, reparations for Japanese American incarcerees, and the release of prisoners whom she regarded as prisoners of conscience. Yuri Kochiyama was a Japanese American political and civil rights activist. During World War II, the U.S. ![]()
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