Courtesy of the Kochiyama family/UCLA Asian American Studies Center
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Courtesy of the Kochiyama family/UCLA Asian American Studies Center
Yuri Kochiyama speaks at an anti-war demonstration in New York City's Central Park around 1968.
Courtesy of the Kochiyama family/UCLA Asian American Studies Center
On March 5, 1965, LIFE Magazine published an article on the assassination of Malcolm X. The article was accompanied by a photo of Malcolm X lying on the floor—his white button-down shirt ripped open and stained red with blood—moments after the fatal shots were fired. In the photo is a woman kneeling on the ground, her hands holding up Malcolm's head, appearing to give him comfort in his dying moments. There is no mention of who the bespectacled woman is or her relation to Malcolm X in the article, but that woman remembered that tragic moment vividly. Her name is Yuri Kochiyama.