Children’s Day Book Event: “The Bridges Yuri Built: How Yuri Marched Across Movements” with author Kai Naima Williams
Sunday, May 5th
Origami Activity at 2 pm. Book Reading at 3 pm.
Meet author Kai Naima Williams, great-granddaughter of Yuri Kochiyama, for her debut children’s picture book that intimately chronicles the experiences, people and places that shaped Yuri’s life. From Yuri’s incarceration in a Japanese-American concentration camp during World War II to her participation in movements organizing for better schools in Harlem to her close friendship with Malcolm X, Yuri never wavered in her belief in the power of people to bring about social change. THE BRIDGES YURI BUILT by Kai Naima Williams with illustrations by Anastasia Magloire Williams, inspires young readers to embrace Yuri’s unswerving belief that together we can build a bridge to a better world.
Meet the author, buy a book, and join us for a hands-on activity with Jun Hamamoto of San Quentin Origami in celebration of Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day). The author talk will be moderated by Miya Saika Chen. Bring the family. Bring friends. March with us!
Kai Naima Williams is a multidisciplinary writer and performer based in Harlem. She is the author of the poetry collections He Tried To Drown the Ocean, I Waved and Tomorrow Maps, and a co-founder of Eat At The Table Theatre Company. Her work has been honored by the Asian American Arts Alliance, MoCADA, the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival and The New York Times.