Yuri Kochiyama Solidarity Project

Header image by Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya. Learn more about Amanda's mural and Raise Your Voice exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York by clicking this link.

Yuri Kochiyama Solidarity Project

Born and raised in Southern California, Yuri Kochiyama was a second-generation Japanese American citizen, wife, mother and dedicated activist who committed her life to building community and working for social justice for all oppressed people. Following her family’s experiences of racism, displacement and incarceration during World War II, Yuri married and eventually moved to Harlem with her husband and 6 young children in 1960. 

Yuri’s education and participation in the Freedom Schools and the many movements and struggles that emerged out of Harlem in the 1960s would lay the path for her deep commitment to radical solidarity and involvement with movements in support of Black Liberation and reparations, peace and human rights, racial justice, indigenous rights and political prisoners. Over the course of more than 50 years of community and coalition-building, organizing, marching, speaking, writing, educating and hosting countless gatherings, Yuri remained committed to “building bridges” and promoting radical solidarity, human dignity and broad support for all oppressed people until the end of her life in 2014. 

Our Mission/Vision

The Yuri Kochiyama Solidarity Project’s (YKSP) mission is to carry on Yuri’s legacy – her passion for justice and commitment to connecting people, communities, and movements to each other, in solidarity. We seek to sustain and support a network of Black Indigenous People Of Color activists, educators, artists and organizations committed to building coalitions that increase communications between us and support collective action and policies that strengthen and protect our communities.

Our programs and projects reflect Yuri’s legacy and radical solidarity practice: 

For four decades, Yuri and her family used their Harlem home to create a safe space where friends, neighbors, activists, artists, students and scholars shared their talents and passions, held gatherings, organized and connected with each other 365 days a year.  Yuri’s education in the civil rights movement inspired her to become a dedicated lifelong learner and scholar of history. The YKSP will honor Yuri’s commitment to community building, history, self-education and practice of radical solidarity and hospitality in the following ways: 

Education Program: An increasingly visible model for engaged citizenship in a plural democracy, intersectional feminism and multicultural/BIPOC community building, Yuri’s story is attracting more interest. Requests for educational resources (including speakers and workshops) and information about her life, work and archives continue to increase. Led by Co-Director, Akemi Kochiyama, the YKSP Education Program provides speakers, workshops, curriculum and teaching/learning resources for educators, students and activists including walking tours and Freedom Schools. 

Inspired by her education in the Organization of Afro American Unity (OAAU) Liberation School, Yuri credited Malcolm X with teaching her that the road to self-determination and liberation begins with self-education. The YKSP will launch its Solidarity Freedom Schools in 2025 and will present a series of education programs for diverse, intergenerational audiences focused on learning our shared histories, building community and working in solidarity and against polarization. Starting in 2026, we plan to expand this program to the Bay Area in Northern California.

Residency Program:  Honoring Yuri’s praxis of “radical hospitality” and providing people and communities with space and accommodations in her Harlem home, the YKSP Residency Program provides short-term residencies for students, educators, activists and artists with a safe and conveniently located space in Central Harlem to live/work while visiting NYC for a special project, event, meetings, research, and/or cultural/political/community-based work. 

Holding space for learning, solidarity and community building: Utilizing the YKSP office space in Harlem and partner organizations in the community and throughout NYC, the YKSP provides physical and virtual meeting spaces for activists, artists and organizations to teach, learn, work and organize together.

Letter Writing and Support/Advocacy for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people: Letter writing was a major part of Yuri Kochiyama's activism and daily solidarity praxis. From leading campaigns to Nisei soldiers fighting in the frontlines during WWII in the 1940s to writing letters to political prisoners involved with movements for Black Liberation and indigenous rights in the 1960s-early 2000s, Yuri connected to people through letter writing every day of her life. The YKSP will honor this aspect of Yuri’s solidarity work through letter writing campaigns and providing support/advocacy for political prisoners and incarcerated/formerly incarcerated people. 

Who We Are

Co-Director, Akemi Kochiyama-Ladson is a Harlem-based writer, scholar-activist and consultant whose work is focused on community building, solidarity and social justice. Akemi is Yuri’s granddaughter and co-editor of Passing It On: A Memoir by Yuri Kochiyama. 

Co-Director, Audee Kochiyama-Holman is the Director of Alumni Relations at the Asian Law Caucus, a Board member of EastSide Arts Alliance and an Advisory Council member of the Asian Prisoners Support Committee. Audee is Yuri’s daughter and co-editor of Passing it On: A Memoir by Yuri Kochiyama.

Advisors:

Huong Nguyen-Yap | Vice President for Equity and Justice at Northern California Grantmakers

Karen Ijichi Perkins | Ijichi Perkins and Associates: Planning Consultant 

Peggy Saika | Former CEO, Common Counsel and former Executive Director, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP)

Contact Us:

For more information, contact us directly at ContactYKSP@gmail.com.

Speaker Request/Inquiry:

To make a speaker request/inquiry, please complete the form here.