Our Own People (2021)

[0] A quick note before we get started.

[1] This episode contains descriptions of racial violence.

[2] The date was February 21st.

[3] It was a Sunday.

[4] Yuri and her oldest son, Billy, a teenager, were among the audience in the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem to listen to Malcolm give his message.

[5] I think that whole week there was a lot of rumors going on that something might happen to Malcolm.

[6] Brother Malcolm had the week before had his house bombed.

[7] As many of you know, somebody threw some bombs inside my house.

[8] Normally, I wouldn't get excited over a few bombs, but the ones who threw these aimed them in room where three of my daughters sleep.

[9] One daughter six, one daughter four, and one daughter two.

[10] And on that day, February 21, 1965, When Brother Malcolm got up to speak, there was a distraction in the audience.

[11] One guy got up and said, get your hands out of my pocket.

[12] And they started fighting the two.

[13] And just then the gunfire went off, and his hand was up.

[14] I remember this.

[15] I turned around quickly.

[16] And the next thing I saw was Malcolm falling back in a dead train.

[17] He fell back with gunshots to his chest.

[18] You know, cheers were being knocked over.

[19] There were screams.

[20] And everybody was in a mad confusion.

[21] And in this commotion, of course, everyone dumped for cover, including Yuri and her son, Billy.

[22] Malcolm's wife, Betty, and their young children were in the audience that day as well.

[23] But then Yuri saw someone run up to the stage to try to help Malcolm.

[24] And she brought out of her seat and followed him up on stage.

[25] and picked up his head and just put it on my lap.

[26] This was remarkable.

[27] Everybody was scared, trying to protect their own lives, which is completely understandable.

[28] And Yuri Kuchiyama runs onto stage.

[29] Places Malcolm's head on her lap and tries to offer some kind of comfort.

[30] People asked, what did he say?

[31] He didn't say anything.

[32] He was just having a difficult time breathing.

[33] What did you say to him?

[34] Please, Malcolm, please Malcolm, stay alive.

[35] In that fateful moment, as Yuri Kuchyama cradled Malcolm's head in her arms, a close associate of Malcolm X took a photo.

[36] It has an almost ethereal quality to it, the fallen warrior, eyes closed, wounds exposed, white shirt stained with blood, being held in the arms of a loved one, Yuri Kuchiyama.

[37] She's dressed in obwack, kneeling on the ground, her back hunched over Malcolm, her hands holding up his head, and her eyes pointed down at his face.

[38] Looking at her, you get a sense of fear and panic, but also a certain gentleness and care.

[39] A couple weeks later, this photo ended up in the pages of Life magazine.

[40] But Yuri's name was nowhere to be found.

[41] And yet, why was this Asian woman in the room, right?

[42] And what does this say about Black Asian relations in any way?

[43] I think that those are some of the questions that we need to raise and ask.

[44] Yuri Kocciama dedicated her life to social justice for people of all backgrounds.

[45] She fought for Black liberation alongside Malcolm X, for Puerto Rican rights, alongside the young lords, for better labor practices among the working class, and she was instrumental in building the Asian -American movement.

[46] I'm Randab al -Fattah.

[47] I'm Ramtin -Arablui.

[48] And on this episode of ThruLine from NPR, the Radical Solidarity of Yuri Kochiyama.

[49] This march marks the one -year anniversary of the mass shooting in Atlanta that killed eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent.

[50] It was part of an increase in violence, against Asians and Asian Americans in the U .S. There have been a number of incidents recently of API elders, of Chinese elders, of Southeast Asian elders who have been walking in this community and have been attacked senselessly.

[51] The uptick in reported acts of violence has raised long simmering questions about the treatment of Asian Americans.

[52] America, we have a problem.

[53] I find myself constantly thinking about what would Yuri do in this?

[54] situation.

[55] This is Diane Fujino, professor of Asian American Studies at UC Santa Barbara, an author of the book, Heartbeat of Struggle, the Revolutionary Life of Yuri Cochiyama.

[56] Yuri is always present with me. She not only dedicated her entire life to fierce political struggle, but she was also somebody who tried to treat the individuals in the movement and in communities, with great love, what we would call today collective care.

[57] Collective care, solidarity.

[58] That was at the heart of Yuri's work and how she lived her life.

[59] She allowed me to interview her multiple times.

[60] She invited me into her home.

[61] She tried to give me a key the first time I met her because she thought that I would be stuck outside in the cold in case she arrived home late from a meeting and I refused to accept that key.

[62] But from the second time on that I visited her in Harlem, I would stay with her in her home.

[63] Diane often reflects on the conversations they would have, though wisdom Yuri would impart.

[64] Remember that consciousness is power.

[65] Tomorrow's world is yours to build.

[66] It's not going to be given to us, right?

[67] We have to demand it.

[68] We have to build it together.

[69] On the walls, I have all my heroes from Malcolm X, Fidel Castro, Patrice Lumumba, Che Guevara, Asada Shakur, all the people in my family, every one of them.

[70] Yuri's legacy is complicated.

[71] On the one hand, she was a pioneer in the Asian American movement and supported freedom movements for many groups of people.

[72] But she also had controversial views on some things, including admiration for Mao Zedong and Osama bin Laden that stemmed from her radical opposition to American imperialism.

[73] Yuri was open to new ideas and perspectives throughout her life.

[74] She was constantly evolving and embodied different, sometimes uncomfortable values.

[75] So in this episode, we're going to journey into the life of Yuri Kochiama to explore how she developed her complex world.

[76] worldview, what she thought about the Asian -American struggle and what collective care can mean for all struggles.

[77] This is Rebecca from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

[78] You're listening to ThruLine from NPR.

[79] Part 1.

[80] Then Came War.

[81] I was red, white, and blue.

[82] When I was growing up, I taught Sunday school and was very, very American, but I was also very provincial.

[83] We were just kids rooting for our high school.

[84] This is the voice of actress Sandra O, who you might know from shows like Grey's Anatomy or Killing Eve.

[85] She's reciting an essay by Yuri Kuchiyama from 1991 called Then Came the War.

[86] I was 19.

[87] I just finished junior college.

[88] I was looking for a job and didn't realize how different the school world is from the world.

[89] In the school world, I never felt racism.

[90] But when you got into the work world, it was very difficult.

[91] Lots of people.

[92] especially Asian -American women, have recited this essay over the decades.

[93] It takes you back to a different time in U .S. history.

[94] It was 1941, just before the war.

[95] I finally did get a job at a department store.

[96] For us back then, it was a big thing because I don't think that they had ever hired an Asian in a department store.

[97] Thank you.

[98] In 1941, how do you do, ladies and gentlemen?

[99] Gas was 19 cents a gallon.

[100] This is Orson Wells.

[101] I'm speaking for the mercury.

[102] theater, and what follows is supposed to advertise our first motion picture.

[103] Citizen Kane is the title.

[104] Citizen Kane was debuting in theaters, and of course, the U .S. was inching towards war.

[105] You know, I was so pro -U

[106].S.,

[107] I

[108] think

[109] because I

[110] had a

[111] good