In honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we also honor all the nameless people who devoted their lives to the movement for justice and equality in America.  I would like to introduce you to Yuri Kochiyama, a central figure in Asian Pacific American history and the civil rights movement.  When I went up to visit New York City one weekend in August, I told my friends, "I'm going to see the famous Asian American activist Yuri Kochiyama," but no one had an inkling as to who she was.  She has been featured in the documentaries "My America ... Or Honk If You Love Buddha" and "Yuri Kochiyama: A Passion for Justice."  Every so often, she's called to speak at Asian American student conferences, or maybe an Asian Pacific American publication will have a blurb about her, relating to her friendship with Malcolm X. 

Yuri Kochiyama with her late husband Bill.  Mr. Kochiyama dedicated his life to supporting his family and his wife's activist efforts.

Who is Yuri Kochiyama?  Yuri Kochiyama is a brave Japanese American woman with a social conscience who has dedicated her life to political activism, participating in issues such as nuclear disarmament, Japanese American redress and reparations, and international prisoners' rights.  Though many people do not know about her, she reminds us that movements, such as that led by Dr. King, are created by an amalgamation of individuals whose desire for social change often surpasses any quest for personal fame and fortune.

Yuri still lives in the same small apartment in Harlem where she and her husband Bill raised their children and entertained notable guests for over thirty years.  As I got off the subway to meet Yuri and her assistant for lunch, the edge of Harlem looked crowded and old, but not dangerous.  Two years earlier when I visited New York City, I wanted to go to Harlem and see the Apollo theater, but my friend dissuaded me, saying that it would be too dangerous.   "You're Asian; you'd stick out like a sore thumb!" he warned.  But the intersection of Broadway and 125th Street showed no signs of the protests and activism that is a part of its history.  Instead, there was a Kentucky Fried Chicken, little stores, and about three Chinese takeout restaurants in the area.

The apartment building was dreary and weathered looking.  As I wandered through the institutional-looking dark hallway, a woman asked cheerfully, "You lookin for Miss Yuri?" and pointed to the right door.  Though her husband has been gone for over four years, Yuri's apartment door still has an address label on it with both their names.  The door opened to my knock, and there was my hero Yuri Kochiyama, about five feet tall and welcoming me with her deep voice, full of conviction even when she was just saying a greeting.  Even though I had only known her daughter from volunteering at the Asian Law Caucus, Yuri was extremely hospitable and open.

The black linoleum-floored apartment was filled with mementos, pictures, and political rally flyers.  Family pictures, pictures of Angela Davis, Malcolm X, and the slain rapper Tupac Shakur.  Her grandson went to nursery school with Tupac, she tells me, and she is friends with his mother. 

There was so much I wanted to talk to her about that I didn't know where to begin.   Just as Martin Luther King, Jr. was concerned about broader issues of human rights and spoke out against the Vietnam War, Yuri Kochiyama has also been involved in international human rights issues and prisoners' rights.  We talked a little about Mumia Abu-Jamal, the author of _Live from Death Row_, and Fred Korematsu.  Yuri was happy that I had heard of Abu-Jamal, and that finally someone agreed with her that it was odd that Korematsu has become some sort of a hero with Asian Pacific Americans, when he had never wanted to associate with Asians, had cosmetic surgery to avoid being interned during World War II, and happened to be imprisoned for refusing to go to an internment camp.  While chowing down on sushi, noodles, and Mexican cookies, she told me more about the case of David Huang, a prisoner scapegoated for killing a guard, and of course, her association with Malcolm X.

Many people don't know this, but Yuri Kochiyama is the petite Asian woman wearing cat's-eye glasses, holding Malcolm X, in photographs of his assassination at the Audubon Ballroom.  When the shooting occurred, most people in the audience hit the floor and hid under their chairs, but Yuri's first concern was the safety of Brother Malcolm.   She ran to the stage where he had fallen and was by his side as he died.

Yuri Kochiyama, then known as Mary, became involved in the civil rights movement after being imprisoned in Arkansas with other Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II.  She met her husband Bill in Mississippi when she welcomed Japanese American soldiers back to the U.S.  When they moved to New York City, Yuri became a member of Malcolm X's Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU) and took her children with her to political and other civil rights rallies, sometimes getting arrested with everyone else.

She pulled out a worn-out, yellowed scrapbook full of Malcolm X memorabilia to show me.   It included her OAAU membership card, photos of Malcolm X with her children, letters, and postcards from his trip to Africa.  I didn't have enough time to ask her about all the programs and political efforts she has been involved in, because I had a train to catch.  The visit ended with us trying to kill a crop of fruit flies in her bowl of bananas, and getting pictures taken with her "family" of stuffed animals wearing political buttons.  Yuri's health is not as good as it used to be, so she no longer accepts invitations to speak at events.

Her story will be told in the memoirs she is currently writing with a grant from UCLA.   It is important that people of all backgrounds appreciate the benefits our country has gained as a result of the civil rights movement.  Sometimes I hear Asian Pacific Americans criticizing "liberal activist crap," as if they have no historical memory of the struggles APAs have also had in demanding equal rights in our country.   As "My America ... Or Honk If You Love Buddha" filmmaker Renee Tajima-Pena stated, "Activists like Bill and Yuri introduced a generation of Asians to Malcolm X -- they've lived history.  As a child, I had no idea the Black struggle for equality I saw on TV had anything to do with Asian Americans.  It changed our lives.  Asian Americans got fair housing, the right to intermarry. Even the right to be here.  In 1965 Congress struck down the Asiatic Barred Zone--laws that virtually excluded Asians from the country.  The doors were opened ... and I wonder what we've given back."

I will always remember Yuri Kochiyama's ending words at a speech she gave at the Japanese American Citizens League headquarters in San Francisco, summer 1993: "My sincere hope is that Asian Americans will continue to side with the oppressed."  During my visit to New York, the friends and relatives I visited were successful Ivy League law students, a doctor, a corporate attorney sporting custom-made shirts, and the editor of a nationally-known magazine.  Without the unified struggles to gain fair opportunities in housing, education, and other social realms, we would not be able to bask in our current status.  For her dedication in helping to change society, Yuri Kochiyama is to be remembered and honored for her contributions to helping to make Dr. King's vision come true.