Yuri Kochiyama

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, The Cardinal will feature prominent and historical Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders, living or dead, who have worked toward change, advancement, and/or world peace. Some of them are heroes, and some are unsung heroes, who deserve recognition, and have made a contribution to society.

Edwyn Renteria, Senior Writer

May 9, 2025

Yuri Kochiyama was a Japanese American activist who spent her life fighting for justice and equality. She is remembered for standing up for people of all races and backgrounds. Her work made a lasting impact on the civil rights movement and helped make the world a better place.

Born in 1921 in California, Kochiyama grew up during a hard time for Japanese Americans. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, her family was forced into an internment camp by the U.S. government. This experience made her realize how unfairly people could be treated just because of their race or differences in opinion. In the 1960s, Kochiyama moved to Harlem, New York. There, she became involved in the African American civil rights movement. She met Malcolm X and became one of his close friends. She was even present when he was shot, and she held him as he died. Her apartment in Harlem became a meeting place for activists fighting for change, discussing and organizing efforts across various movements.

Kochiyama also spoke out for political prisoners and supported groups like the Black Panthers and Puerto Rican independence fighters. She believed that all people facing oppression deserved support, not just her community. In the 1980s, she helped lead the fight to win reparations for Japanese Americans who were put in camps during World War II. Thanks to efforts like hers, the U.S. government apologized and paid compensation through the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Even after she grew older, Kochiyama never stopped speaking out. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for her lifetime of activism. Yuri Kochiyama sadly passed away in 2014 at 93 years old, but her message lives on; real change happens when people come together to fight for justice for everyone.

About the Contributor

Edwyn Renteria, Senior Writer

Edwyn Renteria is a senior in Hoover High School.

He likes playing and listening to music, He listens to artists like Radiohead, The Smiths, Roy Orbison, and The Smashing Pumpkins with Radiohead most likely being his favorite. He likes genres that involve rock, but he likes Radiohead because he loves guitar-heavy albums, making The Bends his favorite album from them and this album is very appealing to him every time he hears these songs because they range from amazing vocals to heavy rock. He mentioned that he likes playing music because he used to be in a concert band and played the clarinet for a couple of years but now he’s in Rock Band and plays the bass.

His goals for now are to learn more skills, play more difficult basslines for the bass, and learn more life skills like cooking and life skills in general. His role models are Andy Rourke, Thom Yorke, and Colin Greenwood for bass and music. He is thinking about going to college but he is not sure for what yet. His favorite foods are anything meat related he is a carnivore essentially. He loves drinks like Brisk or zero-sugar sodas but he loves water the most. What he thinks he can do to change the world is inspire people with music. He thinks society can do a bunch of good things to make the world a better place by changing bad habits and helping others out or even having respect for each other.