Researcher and activist Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga dies at 93

Former incarceree uncovered instrumental evidence for the Japanese American redress movement.



Activist and researcher Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga, best known as a hero of the Japanese American redress campaign that culminated in the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, died last week. She was 93.

The Civil Liberties Act of 1988, signed by President Ronald Reagan, granted reparations, and perhaps more importantly, an official apology to Japanese Americans who had been removed from the West Coast and incarcerated without trial by the United States government during World War II.

Herzig-Yoshinaga was a high school senior when she was incarcerated with her family at the Manzanar Relocation Center. After the war, while living in New York in the 1960s, she became involved with Asian Americans for Action, and engaged in a variety of political protests and demonstrations, including efforts to end the war in Vietnam and demonstrations against nuclear research.

After to moving to Washington DC in 1978, Herzig-Yoshinaga began looking through the information on the wartime exclusion and incarceration, which was publicly accessible in the National Archives. Over several years, she retrieved and cataloged thousands and significant documents -- including a key piece of "buried" evidence that would become instrumental in the movement for redress.

SAG-AFTRA leader Sumi Haru dies at 75

Former Screen Actors Guild president fought for better roles for Asian Americans.



Some sad news out of Hollywood... Sumi Sevilla Haru, longtime leader of the Screen Actors Guild who paved the way for Asian Americans actors to get better TV and film roles, died last week in Los Angeles. She was 75.

Sumi Sevilla Haru, Former Interim Screen Actors Guild President, Dead at 75

Haru served as the interim Screen Actors Guild president in 1995, and was the first and only woman of color to hold the position. She joined SAG in 1968 and AFTRA in 1972 and served as a national board member for both organizations, often working to address the lack of opportunities and roles for Asians Americans.

In her own acting career, she refused to audition for stereotypical roles, like the maid or the dragon lady, and spoke out against the discrimination Asian actors and the racist practice of yellowface in Hollywood.

New York City Memorial for Yuri Kochiyama

Saturday, September 27 at First Corinthian Baptist Church



Just a reminder... If you're in New York and would like to participate in a celebration of the life and work of legendary activist, educator and humanitarian Yuri Kochiyama, her family invites you to attend a public memorial next in Harlem. It's happening Saturday, September 27 at First Corinthian Baptist Church.

Here are some more details:

An Homage for Yuri Kochiyama

By Traci Kato-Kiriyama



Over the weekend, I joined hundreds of community members in Little Tokyo for public memorial service honoring the life and legacy of activist Yuri Kochiyama, who died in June at the age 93. It was a beautiful, inspiring gathering of people from all walks of life, celebrating the amazing journey of a giant.

During the program, artist/performer/educator Traci Kato-Kiriyama shared her homage to Yuri Kochiyama. It's a lovely piece, and I'm re-sharing it here, with Traci's permission:

Pioneering actor James Shigeta dies at 85

Leading man in such films as The Crimson Kimono, Flower Drum Song and Bridge to the Sun



Sad news. Pioneering Asian American actor James Shigeta, who was a leading man in such films as The Crimson Kimono, Flower Drum Song and Bridge to the Sun, died Monday in Los Angeles. He was 85.

James Shigeta, Top Asian-American Actor of Early '60s and 'Die Hard' Co-Star, Dies at 81

Handsome and charming, Shigeta was one of the first prominent Asian American actors. He made his film debut in 1959 starring as a detective caught up in a love triangle in Samuel Fuller's The Crimson Kimono, kicking off a solid two-year run of film roles, including Walk Like a Dragon (1960), Cry for Happy (1961) and Bridge to the Sun (1961). He won a Golden Globe Award in 1960 for "Most Promising Male Newcomer."

Musician and activist Fred Ho dies at 56

Trailblazing saxophonist passes after a years-long battle with cancer.



Composer, saxophonist, writer and radical activist Fred Ho, best known for his avant-garde music, outspoken political views and iconoclastic style, died on Saturday at his home in Brooklyn. He was 56.

Fred Ho, Creative Activist and Musician, Dies at 56

Ho died after a lengthy battle with colorectal cancer, which he had been publicly "at war" with since 2006. He was an accomplished jazz musician with a dozen operas and several albums to his name, and is credited with helping to pioneer an Asian American music genre. He was also a published author, lecturer and activist.

Maj. Kurt Chew-Een Lee, First Asian American U.S. Marine Officer, dies at 88

Decorated hero of the Korean War



Major Kurt Chew-Een Lee, the first Asian American officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, who was decorated for his legendary service in the Korean War, has died this week at his home in Washington DC. He was 88.

Obituary: Maj. Kurt Chew-Een Lee, 88, was Korean War hero

The son of Chinese immigrants, Maj. Lee was a gung-ho Marine who climbed the ranks and broke barriers during a time strong racial prejudice. A recipient of the Navy Cross, the Marines' second-highest honor -- really, experts say deserved higher -- Maj. Lee is perhaps best known for his fierce bravery in combat during a assault by Communist Chinese forces in Korea on the night of November 2-3, 1950.

The 2010 documentary Uncommon Courage: Breakout at Chosin, recounts how Lee led 500 men through a nighttime blizzard and rebuffed an attack by enemy forces to save 8,000 Marines from capture at Chosin Reservoir.