Have you heard of Yuri Kochiyama? She was a friend of Malcolm X and was there when he was murdered. She held his head as he layed dying. She met Malcolm in 1963 and joined his group the Organization for Afro-American Unity, to work for racial justice and human rights. She described herself as red, white, and blue as a child and didn’t know how bad racism was. But on the Sunday morning of December 7th, 1941 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor obviously the people she assimilated to changed around her. At home, FBI agents came and ordered her to get her father. He was ill and recently had ulcer surgery, but they made him put on his slippers and bathrobe and took him away. He was released six weeks later, and died a day after being released from custody. The following year Japanese Americans were removed from their homes and placed in concentration camps. When the war ended she was able to return to her home, but she had trouble finding a job. She saw that Japanese people were widely seen as the “enemy” at the time. Yuri did not became an activist until the 1960s when she moved to Harlem as a middle-aged homemaker with six children. Her husband’s salary was limited so the family moved to a housing project in Harlem. Surrounded by black neighbors she became involved in struggles to improve schools and to end job discrimination. In the 1970s she joined Japanese American activists who called for the redress of their internment during World War II. The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 made an official apology and authorized payments of $20,000 to former internees. Let’s end this with a quote from her, “Keep expanding your horizon, decolonize your mind, and cross borders.” Respect to Ms. Kochiyama’s legacy and her place in the struggle.
Black History 365 | # 41 - John Brown
This is John Brown, the abolitionist. The fun fact about John Brown is that he is in fact a white man. But this white man really cared and dedicated his life to the liberation of black people. An extremely religious man he felt that he was an instrument of God. He also believed that violence was necessary to end American slavery since decades of peaceful efforts had failed. He was taken to jail, severely wounded in Charles Town, Virginia. He stood trial for treason against the commonwealth of Virginia for murder and for conspiring with slaves to rebel and was hung to death. In closing, anybody can be a true ally for black liberation. But as we know revolutionaries and activists rarely see the changes that they fight and commit their lives for. Respect and love to our allies and their legacies.
Black History 365 | # 40 - Charles Page
This is Charles Page, he is the man who first pioneered the airplane. Page’s conceptual groundwork was laid before the Wright brothers, decades earlier, as he crafted designs for a flying machine. Charles Page in fact patented his design in April of 1903, and was granted the patent April of 1906. He planned to enter his plane into a competition at the world fair in 1904, but the aircraft never arrived. The Wright brothers flew their design for a plane in December 1903.
Black History 365 | # 42 - Jack Johnson
Did you know Jack Johnson, was the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion in 1908? And this was in the height of the Jim Crow era. The previously undefeated champion James Jeffries was forced out of retirement to defeat Johnson in what was dubbed “The Fight of the Century,” while Jeffries was nicknamed “The Great White Hope.” After Johnson won, many whites were outraged. So much so that they rioted in cities across the US and within 2 days killed 10 African-Americans for supposedly celebrating. White people felt that his victory undermined the ideology of white superiority. Johnson was considered to be the most hated man in America. To make matters worse, Johnson always had women in his entourage and they were always white and blonde. And in 1910 The White-Slave Traffic Act was passed as a federal law. It is described as an Act to further regulate interstate and foreign commerce by prohibiting the transportation therein for immoral purposes of women and girls, and for other purposes. In practice it’s ambiguous language about “immorality” resulted in it being used to criminalize consensual sex between adults. In 1913 Johnson was convicted of this act, due to traveling with his girlfriend and then wife Lucille Cameron, who refused to cooperate with the prosecution. He was the first to be convicted of the act. One could deduce this law was tailor made for Jack Johnson. Though it is never outright said. While incarcerated and working on cars he invented a wrench, he patented it in 1922. Once found out the famed boxer owned the patent for it, it was deemed it the Monkey Wrench. Sources in the general public adamantly deny this rumor and there are fuzzy reports that the name originated in Britain and its name is because the wrench’s jaws resembles a monkey’s face. Or that Charles Moncky invented the wrench in 1858 and that’s the source of the names addition. It is said that the movie King Kong was inspired by Jack Johnson’s propensity for white women, but once again, you guessed it. There is a concerted effort denying this saying all similarities are coincidence.
Black History 365 | #38 - Jerry Lawson
This is Jerry Lawson, and in the mid-70s Lawson worked as the director of engineering and marketing at Fairchild Semiconductor when the company created the Fairchild Channel F – a home entertainment machine that allowed people to play a variety of games. This paved the way for systems such as the Atatri 2600, Nintendo, Xbox and Playstation. Lawson pioneered the video game cartridge. He was actually mostly a self-taught engineer and interacted with other people through the Homebrew Computing Club who would later become even more influential in the technology industry. Like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak who he interviewed.
Lawson also interacted with other people who would later become even more influential in the technology industry, such as Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, in the Homebrew Computing Club.