Yuri Kochiyama

Japanese-American civil rights activist who fought for racial justice and reparations for marginalized communities

Yuri Kochiyama (1921–2014) was a groundbreaking activist whose advocacy bridged African American, Asian American, and Third World liberation movements. After surviving internment in a U.S. camp during World War II, she moved to Harlem, where her friendship with Malcolm X shaped her radical vision. Kochiyama famously cradled Malcolm X after his assassination in 1965, a moment immortalized in photographs and documentaries.

She campaigned for reparations for Japanese American internees, co-founded the Asian Americans for Action group, and supported Puerto Rican independence and political prisoners’ rights. Her intersectional approach to activism, decades before the term became popular, highlighted systemic oppression across races. Kochiyama’s legacy is celebrated in books like Passing It On and the documentary Yuri Kochiyama: Passion for Justice, cementing her role as a pivotal but underrecognized figure in civil rights history.