Welcome to Karen Hunter's awesome.

I'm Karen Hunter, and this week we have been celebrating the 100th birth, the day that Malcolm X was here.

It got me thinking about our purpose and what we were here to do. The man did not live

to 40, but yet we are saying his name today. And so many of us have used him as a lightning rod

for how we live our lives. Yesterday, Kevin Powell and I had an amazing conversation about it. And in that

conversation, he brought up a woman, Yuri Kocciama.

I've talked about her on the radio, but I've also really used her as an example of what

allyship looks like. It's not enough to say that we follow certain teachings and that we like

certain people, but how do you engage? How do you roll up your sleeves to make a difference?

And we all are required.

This is not just a quote unquote black movement.

This is just not about black liberation.

And in fact, it wasn't until Malcolm X went on his haj and saw people from all over the world with all different kinds of complexions, blue-eyed and blonde-haired people all walking around Mecca with one common goal, which was to

serve Allah and to find a higher purpose. And I think about Yuri Koshiyama because she was literally

born on the same day as Malcolm X, which is wild, born May 19, 1921 in San Pedro, California. She was an

American. She was a Japanese American. And I say

Japanese American because her family was targeted during World War II. They were abused during

World War II because we were at war with the Japanese, even though she was an American. Her

parents were also citizens, but they weren't treated as such. So she used that as a way to get involved in all

kinds of injustices. She was out there fighting alongside Ashay Guevara, Patrice Lamumba, Fidel Castro.

She was one of these champions, and Malcolm X was one of her Jegnas's she actually in the Audubon theater the day that he

was murdered was there and there's an image of her holding his head as he lay dead on the ground

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