Yuri Kochiyama: a nisei ahead of her time
Late activist Yuri Kochiyama is honored with a Google Doodle Thursday on what would have been her 95th听 birthday.
Born on May 19, 1921, Ms. Kochiyama was relocated to an internment camp with other Japanese-Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Kochiyama鈥檚 time at the internment camp inspired a life of activism, fighting for various causes including reparations for Japanese-American internees, equal rights for African-Americans, and Puerto Rican independence.听
鈥淜ochiyama left a legacy of advocacy: for peace, U.S. political prisoners, nuclear disarmament, and reparations for Japanese-Americans interned during the war,鈥� said Google . 鈥淪he was known for her tireless intensity and compassion, and remained committed to speaking out, consciousness-raising, and taking action until her death in 2014.鈥澨�
Kochiyama had a typical childhood in San Pedro, Calif., but her life changed after the start of World War II. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took Kochiyama鈥檚 father Seiichi Nakahara, a Japanese immigrant and fishing merchant by trade, into custody on Dec. 7, 1941, shortly after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Despite being ill at the time of arrest, Mr. Nakahara was interrogated by the FBI for almost two months before being released on Jan. 20, 1942. Kochiyama鈥檚 father died the next day.听
Many of the more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans held in internment camps during that time endured their imprisonment in relative silence.
鈥淲e came out of these camps with a sense of shame and guilt, of having been considered betrayers of our country,鈥� John Tateishi, a US citizen who was interned as a young child, told NPR in 2013. 鈥淭here were no complaints, no big rallies or demands for justice because .鈥澨�
However, this was not the case for Kochiyama.
Throughout her life, Kochiyama fought for government reparations, as well as a national apology, for the treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Kochiyama and other Japanese-American activists 鈥� including Kochiyama鈥檚 husband Bill 鈥� eventually led to President Ronald Reagan signing the Civil Liberties Act in 1988.听听
Under the act, 100,000 Americans who were held in camps during World War II were offered a formal apology and $20,000 in compensation.听
Twitter users have praised Google鈥檚 recognition of the lesser-known, yet influential, activist.听
Thursday is also the birthday of African-American activist Malcolm X.听
Kochiyama and Malclom X first met at a protest in 1963, and their friendship endured until Malcolm鈥檚 death almost two years later.听
鈥淢alcom X鈥檚 movement was probably the last thing you would imagine a Japanese-American person, especially a woman, to be involved with,鈥� Tim Toyama, a playwright who wrote a one-act play on the activists鈥� friendship, .
Kochiyama was in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem when Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965. She famously appeared in , holding Malcolm鈥檚 head as he lay on the ground with fatal gunshot wounds.听听
"She was not your typical Japanese-American person, ," or a second-generation Japanese-American, added Mr. Toyama. "She was definitely ahead of her time, and we caught up with her."
