From the Archives: Yuri Kochiyama dies at 93; civil rights activist, friend of Malcolm X

A famous Life magazine photograph from 1965 shows Malcolm X lying on the stage of a New York City ballroom moments after assassins had shot him down. One of the first people who rushed to his side was a petite Asian woman in glasses who is seen cradling his head in her hands.

A hotbed of black liberation was an unlikely place to find a middle-aged Japanese American mother of six who had grown up teaching Sunday school in a mostly white section of San Pedro.

But history’s twists had turned Yuri Kochiyama onto an unexpected path.

Kochiyama, who straddled black revolutionary politics and Asian American empowerment movements during four decades of activism that was just beginning when she met Malcolm X, died Sunday of natural causes in Berkeley, her family said. She was 93.

The daughter of immigrants, Kochiyama experienced the hardships of a World War II internment camp after public hysteria surrounding Japanese Americans erupted in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack. Apolitical before the war, she began to see the world differently after it ended.

She married a Japanese American GI she had met during the war and in 1960 moved with him to Harlem, where she raised a large family and joined her poor black and Puerto Rican neighbors to fight for better schools and safer streets.

Radicalized by her association with Malcolm X, the fiery Nation of Islam leader, Kochiyama plunged into campaigns for Puerto Rican independence, nuclear disarmament and reparations for Japanese American internees.

“I didn’t wake up and decide to become an activist,” she told the Dallas Morning News in 2004. “But you couldn’t help notice the inequities, the injustices. It was all around you.”

Known as “Sister Yuri” in a wide circle of African American activists that included the firebrand poet Amiri Baraka and ‘60s radical Angela Davis, Kochiyama also became an advocate for prisoners, organizing supporters across racial lines to press for reconsideration of charges many considered politically motivated.

“She was part of a very unique group of Nisei — primarily women — who were progressive activists … left of liberal,” former state Assemblyman Warren Furutani said Tuesday. “She was an icon, and icon is not an overstatement.”

She was born Mary Yuriko Nakahara in San Pedro on May 19, 1921. Her father, Seiichi, owned a fish and marine supply business and was prominent in the Japanese American community. Her mother, Tsuyako, “was a bit unusual,” said UC Santa Barbara professor Diane C. Fujino, who wrote a biography of Kochiyama in 2005. “She had a college degree. She smoked. She taught piano. At the same time, she took care of the house and children.”

Kochiyama was a model of assimilation. She was believed to be the first girl elected to the student council at San Pedro High School, wrote a sports column for the San Pedro News-Pilot and was a Sunday school teacher at the local Presbyterian church. She went on to study journalism at Compton Community College.

Being of Japanese descent never seemed to be a problem — until Dec. 7, 1941.

Yuri Kochiyama views a memorial erected for the inhabitants of a Japanese-American World War II internment camp, in Rohwer, Ark., on Sept. 26, 2004. 

(Mike Wintroath / Associated Press)

That day she was at home with her father when FBI agents knocked on their door and arrested him. He was among hundreds of people of Japanese descent, most of them American citizens, who were unjustly accused of espionage and sent to prison after the bombing at Pearl Harbor. Although he had just undergone ulcer surgery, he was denied medical care in prison and died six weeks later.

Yuri and the rest of the family were sent to an internment camp in Jerome, Ark., where she organized other young women to write letters to the thousands of Japanese American GIs who were serving their country during the war. She was released in 1944 to help run a USO center for the soldiers in Hattiesburg, Miss. That is where she met Bill Kochiyama, a member of the highly decorated 442nd Regimental Combat Team made up almost entirely of Japanese American soldiers.

Married in 1946, she and her husband moved into a housing project behind Lincoln Center in New York City. As the ‘60s dawned, they relocated to an apartment in Harlem and enrolled in “freedom schools” to learn about black history and culture. Soon Kochiyama was meeting with radicals of various stripes. “She was a border crosser,” said Los Angeles actress-activist Nobuko Miyamoto, who met her around 1970 at a gathering of the Puerto Rican nationalist group Young Lords. “She said, ‘Are you connected with any groups?’ That was my entrance into the Asian American movement.”

Kochiyama’s apartment became Grand Central for the left. “People were in and out of our place 24/7,” said her daughter, Audee Kochiyama Holman. “There was not a lot of privacy.”

Furutani recalled that the apartment was so cramped Kochiyama used an ironing board for a desk. “There was a kitchen table, but you couldn’t ever really eat on it. There were always fliers, papers, magazine articles all over it.”

In 1963 Kochiyama was among several hundred people detained at a protest over discriminatory hiring practices. While she was awaiting arraignment at a Brooklyn courthouse, Malcolm X arrived to lend support to the arrestees, most of whom were African American.

When the crowd surged toward him, Kochiyama hung back. “I felt so bad that I wasn’t black, that this should be just a black thing,” she recalled on the news show “Democracy Now” several years ago. “But the more I see them all so happily shaking his hand and Malcolm so happy, I said, gosh darn it, I’m going to try and meet him somehow.”

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Notable Deaths of 2014  ()

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The luminous 1930s actress won back-to-back Oscars, but her Hollywood film career was shattered when she clashed with studio boss Louis B. Mayer and lost. She was 104.  (Clarence Sinclair Bull)

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The founding rabbi of the Leo Baeck Temple on Los Angeles’ Westside, Beerman, pictured with Yasser Arafat, left, in 1983, was a pacifist who often angered the Jewish community with his vocal criticism of Israel. He was 93.  (family photo)

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Rainer poses in her central London apartment on July 29, 1999. She died on Dec. 30, 2014.   (Adam Butler / Associated Press)

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A mystery writer who brought realistic modern characters to the classical British detective story, James said “the greatest mystery of all is the human heart.” She was 94.  (EPA)

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A charismatic character, Barry served as mayor of the District of Columbia for four terms. Though dogged by scandals, he maintained his popularity and was reelected even after an FBI videotape showed him smoking crack. He was 78.  (Tim Sloan / AFP / Getty Images)

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Nichols directed landmark films such as “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and “The Graduate.” His critic- and crowd-pleasing work earned him adulation both on Broadway and in Hollywood. He was 83.  (Archive Photos / Getty Images)

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During the 1960s, Doar, a top Justice Department lawyer, was the face of the federal government during some of the most sensitive conflicts of the civil rights era. He was 92.  (Associated Press )

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Jackson, left, who recorded as “Big Bank Hank,” was one of the founders of the pioneering New Jersey rap trio Sugarhill Gang. The group’s 1979 single “Rapper’s Delight” proved that hip-hop could have mass-market appeal. He was 57.  (Sugar Hill Records)

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An Army veteran who became an antiwar activist after a paralyzing injury in Iraq, Young was the subject of the scathing documentary “Body of War.” For many, he symbolized the unending cost of battle. He was 34.  (Taylor Jones / Getty Images)

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A physician who gave up his medical practice to embark on a surf odyssey with his wife and nine children, Paskowitz also founded a surfing school and is credited with pioneering surfing in Israel. He was 93.  (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times)

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Tom Magliozzi, left, along with his brother Ray, for more than 35 years dispensed frequently good advice on “Car Talk,” one of NPR’s most popular and least serious programs. Tom Magliozzi was 77.  (Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

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As press secretary to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, presidential campaign manager for Sen. George S. McGovern and chief of National Public Radio, Frank Mankiewicz made his mark in the worlds of Democratic politics and broadcast media. He was 90.  (Associated Press)

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The longtime Washington Post editor led the paper from 1968 to 1991. He became the best-known editor of his generation, directing the groundbreaking coverage of the Watergate scandal. He was 93.  (AFP/Getty Images)

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The Dominican-born fashion designer spent more than 50 years dressing royalty, Hollywood celebrities and U.S. first ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy to Hillary Clinton. His gowns were often featured on the cover of Vogue magazine and on the red carpet at the Academy Awards. He was 82.  (Brad Barket / Getty Images)

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The former USC coach became one of the most celebrated names in collegiate and Olympic swimming. He coached the 1972 U.S. Olympic men’s swim team to nine gold medals, including the seven won by Mark Spitz. Eight years earlier, he guided the U.S. women’s team to six gold medals. He was 93.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The U.S. Army machinist turned Soviet spy was vilified for betraying his country and his sister, Ethel Rosenberg, in a notorious Cold War-era atomic espionage case that ended with the electrocutions of Rosenberg and her husband, Julius. Greenglass was 92.  (Archive Photos / Getty Images)

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The former dictator of Haiti helped condemn the country to endemic poverty and violence before he was ousted by a popular uprising. He was 63.  (Lee Celano / Getty Images)

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His L.A.-based ensemble, Mariachi los Camperos de Nati Cano, is widely considered one of the top mariachi ensembles in the United States. The group played top concert venues around the world and won crossover fans with its performances with Linda Ronstadt. He was 81.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Dubbed “the flying housewife,” Mock became the first woman to fly solo around the globe, in 1964. She was 88.  (Mike Ewen / Associated Press)

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The Nobel prize-winning physicist proved the existence of the tau lepton, a particle that exists for trillionths of a second. His discovery helped fill a gap in the standard model of particle physics. He was 87.  (Steve Castillo )

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Known for his fiery rhetoric and thundering speeches, the unionist Protestant preacher helped fan the sectarianism of Northern Ireland but went on to lead a power-sharing government with some of his most bitter Catholic enemies. He was 88.  (AFP / Getty Images)

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The Grammy-nominated jazz musician was a bandleader, trumpeter, composer, arranger and educator. His multifaceted career reached from the swing era of the 1930s to the diverse jazz sounds of the 21st century. He was 96.  (GAB Archive / Redferns)

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Rivers rose to prominence in the 1960s as one of only a few nationally known female comics. She had a run on late-night television and reinvented herself as fashion commentator on Hollywood’s red carpet. She was 81.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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The respected British actor and Academy Award-winning director of “Gandhi,” the multiple-Oscar-winning best picture of 1982, was known as a “socially engaged” filmmaker who often focused on major historical figures. He was 90.  (Larry Davis / Los Angeles Times)

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An iconic Bay Area tunnel, commonly known as the Waldo Tunnel or Rainbow Tunnel, will be named after the late actor Robin Williams.

  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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The smoky-voiced movie legend taught Humphrey Bogart how to whistle in “To Have and Have Not.” The two became one of Hollywood’s legendary couples on screen and off. She was 89.  (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

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Former White House spokesman James S. “Jim” Brady gave his name to a gun-control law after surviving a devastating gunshot wound to his head during the 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan. He was 73.  (Mandel Agan / AFP/Getty Images)

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As U.S. surgeon general under President Nixon, he helped spearhead the fight against tobacco. He strengthened the warning on packages and issued the first ban on smoking in certain government buildings. He was 87.  (Los Angeles Times)

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The grandmaster of special-effects makeup, Smith broke ground in the 1970s with his work on films such as “Little Big Man” and “The Exorcist.” He received an Academy Award in 1985 for aging F. Murray Abraham into an elderly composer in the film “Amadeus.” He was 92.  (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

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A dynamic, public-spirited leader, Rich rose to the heights of academic administration at UCLA before serving 10 years as president of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She was 71.  (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)

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Van Kirk was the last surviving crew member of the Enola Gay, which dropped the first nuclear bomb in the history of warfare over Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. He was 93.   (Bita Honavar / EPA)

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A master of light comedy who won an Emmy for “The Rockford Files,” Garner had earlier shot to fame as a charming and dry-witted gambler on the hit TV western “Maverick” (pictured). He was 86.  (MGM)

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The raspy-voiced actress enlivened the New York stage for more than six decades. Her lengthy theater career included a Tony-winning one-woman show and collaborations with Stephen Sondheim and Edward Albee. She was 89.  (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

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The rail-thin blues guitarist was known for his scorching riffs, flowing white hair and gravelly, hard-times voice. In 1988, Winter became the first white musician named to the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. He was 70.  (AFP / Getty Images)

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In 1948, Coachman cleared the high jump bar at just over 5 1/2 feet and set an Olympic and U.S. record. She was the first African American woman to win an Olympic gold medal. She was believed to be 90.  (Associated Press)

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The groundbreaking Soviet foreign minister later became the president of an independent Georgia. In the final years of the Soviet Union, he helped topple the Berlin Wall and end the Cold War. He was 86.  (AFP / Getty Images)

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The South African writer won fame and a Nobel Prize as a chronicler of apartheid. Her work conveyed the visible and hidden wounds of racial injustice, corruption and abuses of freedom. She was 90.  (Pierre Haski / AFP / Getty Images)

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The world-renowned conductor held top posts with the Vienna State Opera, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, among others. Over the course of his career, he conducted an average of two concerts a week for more than 70 years. He was 84.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The last surviving original member of the punk rock band the Ramones, he was the drummer for the band from 1974 to 1978, as well as co-producer for the band’s first three albums. He was 65. Above, the Ramones in 1978, from left: Johnny, Dee Dee, Tommy and Joey.   (Los Angeles Times)

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The doyenne of the modeling business, Ford co-founded an agency that set standards for the industry. She launched superstars such as Brooke Shields, Christie Brinkley and Naomi Campbell, and shaped American ideals of beauty in the 1960s and beyond. She was 92.  (Evan Agostini / Getty Images)

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Mistakenly declared dead during World War II, the former Olympic track star endured more than two years in a Japanese prison camp. His life became the subject of the book and film “Unbroken.” He was 97.  (Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times)

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The Oscar-nominated writer-director excelled at mining the urban middle class for laughs as well as tears in such movies as “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” and “Down and Out in Beverly Hills.” He was 84.  (Christina House / For The Times)

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The legendary soul and gospel singer was mentored by Sam Cooke and played alongside Elvis Presley and Sly Stone. He wrote “It’s All Over Now,” which became a No. 1 hit for the Rolling Stones in 1964. He was 70.  (David Corio / Getty Images)

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The former Republican senator from Tennessee played many leading roles in his long government career, including White House chief of staff for President Reagan and later U.S. ambassador to Japan. But he was most famous for the penetrating question he asked of witnesses during the 1973 Watergate hearings: “What did the president know, and when did he know it?” He was 88.  (Los Angeles Times)

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The veteran stage, screen and television actor was known for his roles in Tennessee Williams’ plays on the New York stage but gained fame in Hollywood for playing bandits in movies including “The Magnificent Seven” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” He was 98.  (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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The prolific jazz pianist and composer cofounded the legendary Jazz Messengers, pioneered the genre known as hard bop and influenced generations of musicians with a style that encompassed all his musical loves: gospel, blues, Latin rhythm. He was 85.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

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His songwriting partnership in the early 1960s with then-wife Carole King, pictured, yielded some of the most indelible hits of the era. Among the hit songs Goffin wrote with King were "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” sung by Aretha Franklin and “Take Good Care of My Baby,” performed by Bobby Vee. He was 75.  (Donna Santisi / Redferns)

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Appreciated throughout baseball for his wizardry with a bat and beloved in San Diego for his loyalty to his adopted city, Gwynn, known as “Mr. Padre,” was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, winning election with 97.6% of the vote. He was 54.  (Los Angeles Times )

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The Los Angeles-based disc jockey pioneered the nationally syndicated countdown-style radio show. His warm, distinctively husky tenor became one of the country’s most instantly recognizable voices. He was 82.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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The Hall of Fame football coach won a record four Super Bowl titles with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He established the “Steel Curtain” defense, and saw a wave of star players in Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, Franco Harris, Jack Lambert and “Mean” Joe Greene. He was 82.  (Associated Press)

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Often called “Little Jimmy Scott” for his small stature and memorable, high-pitched voice, Scott was one of the jazz world’s most unique sounds. His voice earned praise from the likes of Ray Charles, Madonna and Lou Reed. He was 88.   (Kevin P. Casey / Los Angeles Times)

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The actress was known as much for her activism as for her powerful stage and movie roles in productions including “A Raisin in the Sun.” She was 91.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The Dodgers pitcher memorably struck out New York Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson in an epic ninth-inning confrontation in Game 2 of the 1978 World Series. He went on to win the American League Cy Young award in 1990. He was 57.  (Los Angeles Times)

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During World War II, Nez was part of a top-secret group that became known as the Navajo code talkers. Using the Navajo language, they developed an unbreakable military communications code. He was 93.  (Jake Schoellkopf / For The Times)

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A member of the Brooklyn Dodgers’ 1955 World Series-winning team, Zimmer played for and coached more than a dozen major league teams during a career that spanned 65 years. He was 83.  (Getty Images)

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The biochemist in 1976 synthesized a psychedelic drug that was later called Ecstasy. He was 88.  (Bob Carey / Los Angeles Times)

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Radicalized by her association with Malcolm X, the civil rights activist plunged into campaigns for Puerto Rican independence, nuclear disarmament and reparations for Japanese American internees. She was 93.  (Family photo)

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The celebrated surfing pioneer became a noted oceanographer in Hawaii. His scientific work confirmed one of Charles Darwin’s theories about the origin of tropical islands. He was 77.  (Don James / Surfing Heritage & Culture Center)

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The acclaimed author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” rose from poverty, segregation and violence to become a force on stage, screen and the printed page. She was 86.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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Rising from near-poverty as a teenager, Glazer went on to own the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and international soccer powerhouse Manchester United. He was 85.  (Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images)

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Known as the queen of pinup photographers, Yaeger, left, took famed pictures of Bettie Page, right. A former model, Yaeger took photos that emphasized natural beauty. She was 85.  (Rizolli New York )

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Known for his rich baritone and sensitive phrasing, Jeffries was the first black singing cowboy in the movies. He also sang with Duke Ellington and ran jazz clubs in France. He was 100.  (Handout )

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Along with British scientist Rodney Porter, Edelman won the 1972 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for discoveries involving the chemical structure of antibodies. He was 84.  (Associated Press )

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The cinematographer whose moody aesthetic earned him the nickname “Prince of Darkness” worked on nearly three dozen films, including"The Godfather” trilogy, “Annie Hall” and “All the President’s Men.” He was 82.  (Con Keyes / MCT)

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The Southern California coordinator for Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential campaign spent seven months in federal prison for his role in the Watergate scandal. He became a Presbyterian minister after his release. He was 79.  (Margaret Thomas / The Washington Post)

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The Olympic gold medalist and USC sprinter at one time was deemed the fastest human on Earth. He set world records for the 100-yard dash in 1948 and the 220 in 1949. He was 89.  (Associated Press)

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The famed test pilot helped usher in the space age in the 1960s by routinely flying rocket planes to new supersonic speeds and stratospheric heights. He was 83.  (NASA)

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The elegant actor with the mellifluous baritone voice costarred as suave private eye Stuart Bailey on TV’s “77 Sunset Strip” and later starred as Inspector Lewis Erskine on “The F.B.I.” He was 95.  ()

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Called the “grandfather of specialty coffee in the U.S.,” the founder of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf chain was instrumental in fueling America’s rage for gourmet coffee. He was 82.  (Christine Marie Photography)

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The British actor’s powerful screen presence earned him a reputation as “the Cockney Cagney.” In Hollywood he famously played Eddie Valiant in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” He was 71.  (Touchstone Pitcures)

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The Hall of Fame coach led the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA championship before he became a broadcaster. He was 89.   (Associated Press)

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Stepping in for legendary quarterbacks Johnny Unitas, left, and Bob Griese, backup quarterback Morrall turned in a string of masterful performances to keep his teams on track. He was 79.  (Associated Press)

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The Pritzker Prize winner ushered in architecture’s post-modernism movement in the 1970s. He was 80. Full obituary
Notable deaths of 2013  (Jean-Philippe Ksiazek / AFP/Getty Images)

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Convicted with a codefendant of three 1966 New Jersey barroom murders they did not commit, Carter was the subject of a Dylan anthem and a 1999 film starring Denzel Washington. He was 76.  (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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The Nobel Prize-winning Colombian novelist’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” enchanted millions. His influence helped fuel the international popularity of Latin American literature in the years after World War II. He was 87.  (Mario Guzman / EPA)

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A celebrated child actor, Rooney embodied the All-American boy in the “Andy Hardy” films of the 1930s and ‘40s and became one of the era’s top box-office draws. His career was marked by an often-turbulent personal life. He was 93.  (Columbia Pictures / Columbia Pictures)

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The only writer to win the National Book Award in both fiction and nonfiction, Matthiessen was both an elegant novelist and a rugged naturalist. He wrote graceful yet spare descriptions of the wildest places on Earth. He was 86.  (Ed Betz / Associated Press)

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Charles Keating, the former owner of Lincoln Savings & Loan, spent 4 1/2 years in prison for looting the thrift. His high-rolling investments cost taxpayers $3.1 billion, then the costliest bank collapse in U.S. history. He was 90.  (Los Angeles Times)

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Often called the “godfather” of house music, Frankie Knuckles was instrumental in launching the electronic dance music movement in the late 1970s. He was 59.  (Derren Nugent / McClatchy-Tribune)

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Known as the Henry Ford of surfing, Hobie Alter developed the mass-produced foam surfboard with a partner in 1958. His Dana Point shop became the epicenter of Southland surfing. He was 80.   (File photo )

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A U.S. prisoner during the Vietnam War, Jeremiah Denton let the world know that POWs were being mistreated by blinking out the word “torture” in Morse code during a TV interview. He was 89.  (Stephen M. Katz / Associated Press)

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In 1959, Wilson founded the Buffalo Bills with a $25,000 investment and turned the team into western New York’s defining institution. He co-founded the American Football League in 1960. He was 95.  (Rick Stewart / Getty Images)

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A film and television actress who appeared opposite Frank Sinatra in the original “Ocean’s Eleven,” Wymore earned wider notice for her real-life role as the third and last wife of matinee idol Errol Flynn. She was 87.  (File photo / Associated Press)

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A disbarred lawyer, Phelps led a small Kansas church that picketed military and celebrity funerals, preaching a doctrine of divine retribution against gays. He was 84.  (The Washington Post / Getty Images)

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A onetime chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Strauss was the surprise pick by a Republican president to be the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union as it was about to collapse. He was 95.  (Associated Press)

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Mellon, pictured with stepdaughter Eliza Lloyd and husband Paul Mellon, was a passionate gardener who redesigned the White House Rose Garden for the Kennedys. She was 103.  (Associated Press)

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A renowned British cinematographer, Morris won an Academy Award for the 1971 musical “Fiddler on the Roof.” John Huston, Sidney Lumet and Stanley Kubrick were among the directors he worked with. He was 98.  (Richard Blanshard )

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The adventurous and news-making author and reporter is best known for two works that became touchstones in their respective genres -- campaign books (“The Selling of the President”) and true crime (“Fatal Vision”). He was 71.  (Dan Joling / Associated Press)

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The renowned plastic and reconstructive surgeon pioneered the comprehensive care of burn patients in Sherman Oaks. He established what became the nation’s largest private burn-treatment center. He was 81.  (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

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In more than six decades covering entertainment, Thomas, pictured here in 1946 with Judy Garland, wrote prolifically and compellingly about Hollywood’s personalities, glamour and flaws and penned several biographies. He was 92.  (Associated Press)

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In 1974, the orthopedic surgeon saved Dodgers pitcher Tommy John’s arm in what many consider the most extraordinary medical advance in baseball history. Jobe saved hundreds of pitching careers with his transplant procedure. He was 88.  (Los Angeles Times)

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A film director made a name for himself in the ‘80s as head of China’s most progressive film production units. He won recognition for his own pictures and as the “godfather” of now-legendary filmmakers including Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. He was 74.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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The head of a forklift business, Grinstein became an arts patron who played a pivotal role in the art scene in Los Angeles as it was evolving in the 1960s and ‘70s. He was 86.  (Los Angeles Times)

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Founder of two of the region’s most heavily advertised plumbing companies, Stephan never appeared in the campy commercials for his company, but the slogans got stuck in the public mind for years. He was 96.  (Family photo )

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Ramis had writing credits on such enduring movie comedies as “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” “Stripes” and “Ghostbusters,” in which he co-starred as a doctor of parapsychology. He was 69.  (E. Jason Wambsgans / MCT)

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Widely thought to be the oldest survivor of the Holocaust, Herz-Sommer played piano while imprisoned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. She is the subject of “The Lady in Number 6,” a 38-minute documentary. She was 110.   (Bunbury Films / EPA)

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An editor who led The Times during an extraordinary period of expansion in the 1970s and 1980s, Thomas helped the paper reap 11 Pulitzer Prizes. He was 89.  (Los Angeles Times)

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In the D-day invasion, Walter Ehlers singlehandedly took on enemy soldiers and gun nests and exposed himself to fire to save his men. He was awarded Medal of Honor for his heroism. He was 92.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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The first star player in Angels franchise history, Fregosi was also the manager who guided them to their first American League West championship in 1979, above. He later managed the White Sox, Phillies and Blue Jays. He was 71.  (Los Angeles Times)

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The curly-haired child star lifted a filmgoing nation’s spirits during the Depression with her singing and dancing. She later returned to the spotlight as a diplomat. She was 85.  (AFP / Getty Images)

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Hailed as a genius of live TV sketch comedy, Caesar won two Emmys for “Your Show of Shows” in the ‘50s. “He was without a doubt the greatest monologuist, pantomimist and sketch artist that ever worked on TV,” Carl Reiner said. He was 91.  (Los Angeles Times)

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With a clear-eyed vision of the natural world, relationships, mortality and the inner lives of women, she became one of the country’s most honored poets, whose fourth book, “Up Country,” brought her the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. She was 88.  (Melanie Stetson Freeman / Christian Science Monitor / Getty)

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Kiner, right, who hit 369 home runs in his career, later became the New York Mets’ longtime announcer. His broadcasts, often marked by goofy slips, earned him an Emmy. He was 91.  (Associated Press)

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The actor whose work garnered an Academy Award, three Tony nominations and an Emmy nod was one of the most acclaimed performers of his generation. He was found dead of an apparent overdose in his New York apartment, police said. He was 46.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

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The celebrated actor won the Academy Award in 1962 for his role in “Judgment at Nuremberg.” He also directed films, plays and opera. He was 83.  (Alfred Assmann / EPA)

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A studio executive who headed the motion picture academy, Sherak brought changes to the Academy Awards, expanding the best picture nominations from five to as many as 10. He was 68.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The Philadelphia-born athlete was once described by the late UCLA coach John Wooden as “the greatest all-around basketball player” he had ever seen. He was a five-time NBA all-star, retiring as a New York Knick in 1966. He was 81.   (Philadelphia Inquirer)

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An advocate for peace and civil rights, the singer-songwriter helped spark the folk music revival with his five-string banjo and songs calling for justice. He was 94.  (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette / MCT)

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A former music director of opera houses in Milan and Vienna and symphonies in London and Berlin, the Italian conductor was known for attention to detail and respect for players. He was 80.  (AFP / Getty Images)

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The former Japanese imperial army soldier hid in the Philippines jungle for 29 years after World War II ended, then gave up in 1974 after his former commander reversed his orders that he stay behind and spy on U.S. troops. He was 91.  (Jiji Press / AFP / Getty Images)

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The actor and comedian played the curmudgeonly band manager on the popular 1970s TV series “The Partridge Family.” He was 82.  (ABC)

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The veteran actor of TV and movie westerns achieved enduring fame as the Professor on the 1960s show “Gilligan’s Island.” He was 89.  (Wally Fong / Associated Press)

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Israel’s former prime minister was an iron-willed army general. He spearheaded Jewish settlement of Palestinian territories, then years later presided over Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. He was 85.  (Thomas Coex / AFP / Getty Images)

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Franklin McCain, second from left, and three friends, later called the “Greensboro Four,"staged a sit-in at a segregated lunch counter in North Carolina. Their action was soon emulated by thousands of activists across the South. He was 73.  (John G. Moebes / Corbis)

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The provocative African American poet rose to fame as an impassioned voice in the Beat Generation but later embraced black nationalism and Marxism. He expressed his often-controversial ideas through a range of literary works. He was 79.  (Mick Gold / Redferns / Getty Images)

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One of the last great titans of the U.S. arms business, the aerospace executive led Northrop to the top ranks of the defense industry during the Cold War. He was 93.  (Los Angeles Times)

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The filmmaker churned out more than 1,000 movies over 50 years from his sprawling “Hollywood East” studios in Hong Kong. His empire grew to include theaters, amusement parks and TV. He was 106.  (Central Press / Getty Images)

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The Portuguese soccer star, a two-time winner of Europe’s Golden Boot, was named one of soccer’s top 10 players of all time. He was 71.  (AFP / Getty Images)

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After a successful run in the music business, Zaentz, right, was a credited producer on nine films. Three of those films, including the first, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” won best picture Academy Awards. He was 92.  ( Los Angeles Times)

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Phil Everly, left, shown with his brother, Don, made up a vocal duo that profoundly influenced the Beatles and the Beach Boys among others. Their hits included “Wake Up Little Susie,” “Bye Bye Love” and “When Will I Be Loved.” He was 74.  (Dave Hogan / Getty Images)

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Juanita Moore became only the third African American nominated for a supporting-actress Oscar, for 1959’s “Imitation of Life.” She was 99.  (File photo / Associated Press)

At an opportune moment she called out, “Can I shake your hand?” After a brief exchange, he stuck out his hand and a friendship was born.

She did not see eye-to-eye with him at first: She believed in racial integration, not separatism. But she began to study his ideas and joined his Organization of Afro-American Unity; she also became a Muslim for a short time. In 1964 the charismatic leader came to her apartment to meet atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“He certainly changed my life,” Kochiyama said in a 1972 interview for KPFK radio. “I was heading in one direction, integration, and he was going in another, total liberation, and he opened my eyes.”

On Feb. 21, 1965, she went to hear him speak at the Audubon Ballroom, acutely aware of the threats against his life. When the shots rang out, she crawled toward him and “picked up his head and just put it on my lap. I said, ‘Please, Malcolm … stay alive,’” but he was dying.

Over the next decades, she campaigned against the Vietnam War and in 1977 was arrested with Puerto Rican nationalists at the Statue of Liberty. Her prison work intensified. “She was known for writing along the bottom of her Christmas cards ‘Save Mumia! Save Mumia!’”, said Johanna Fernandez, a Baruch College professor involved in the campaign to free Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is serving a life sentence for killing a Philadelphia police officer more than 30 years ago despite his claims of innocence.

Kochiyama moved to Oakland in 1999 after a stroke to be closer to her family. In addition to her daughter, she is survived by sons Eddie, Jimmy and Tommy; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1993. Two of her children died following car accidents.

She remained active into her 90s, often encouraging youths to become politically involved. After meeting her, the hip-hop duo Blue Scholars wrote a song about her. “When I grow up,” the lyrics go, “I wanna be just like Yuri Kochiyama. And if she ever hear this it’s an honor.”

elaine.woo@latimes.com