Growing Up Kochiyama
Yuri Kochiyama was not only dedicated to growing her own consciousness and awareness, but she was deeply committed to her family and cultivating those values in her family. Incorporating opportunities for everyday discussions around current issues and injustices; her children became engaged in the civil rights movement, often traveling to support the efforts to increase Black voter registration.
In 2004, Yuri Published her book Passing it On – A Memoir. For the book’s release event the whole Kochiyama family gathered together to celebrate her book. During her speech at the event, Yuri shared that her book was dedicated to all of her grandkids; at the end of her speech she called each of her grandkids up and gave them a copy with a little note written inside the cover.
“From reading her book, my family history materialized before my eyes. The stories that I’d only touched the surface of became so real, almost tangible. … After the ceremony … I remember that we all just looked at each other like we knew that this was something pretty big. Our grandma was passing down her legacy to us. It was awesome, but at the same time, something else hit me for the first time. Pressure. Is everyone going to expect us to become human rights activists and speakers? How can we live up to all that Grandma has done? What if we want to do something totally different? These were some of the questions going through my mind. Although, it was kind of overwhelming at the time, at least that was when I started thinking about my place in this world and the reasons why I do what I do. That was definitely a turning point in my life.”
Reflections from Maya Kochiyama
(Yuri’s granddaughter)
