Support KIYOSHI: A Legacy of Activism

Please support KIYOSHI. a feature length documentary film that presents the remarkable life of Kiyoshi Kuromiya – Japanese American author, civil rights, anti-war, gay liberation and HIV/AIDS activist. Kuromiya's story begins in a WWII incarceration camp in Heart Mountain, Wyoming, and intersects with many watershed moments in American history.

KIYOSHI is produced in collaboration with the William Way LGBT Center in Philadelphia.

Kiyoshi organized for equal access to education, civil rights, HIV drugs and treatment, and the internet. Well informed and respected by the scientific community, he reported in layperson terms on the latest developments in AIDS research and shared the information widely through his newsletter, The Critical Path, which was one of the earliest and most comprehensive sources on HIV treatment. He also fought for research that involved the community in its design – particularly people of color, drug users, and women. He went on to fight laws that limited expression on the internet, participating in the successful lawsuit against the Communications Decency Act.

We have raised significant funding to produce our film with the assistance of the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, but we need more to complete a key aspect of our production. We are asking for your support to raise $20,000, which will allow us to film interviews with activists in Kiyoshi’s archives at the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia, PA, breathing new life into Kiyoshi’s words. His example speaks to activists today who face similar daunting issues as they imagine a different future and how they will play a part in making it happen.

Kiyoshi's story is the embodiment of both intersectionality and solidarity. As a gay Japanese American who lived through some of the most conservative time periods in the 20th century (McCarthyism, Nixon, Reagan), Kiyoshi not only survived, but thrived in an era when multiple aspects of his identity put a target on his back. Not only did Kiyoshi persevere for his own sake, but along the way made tremendous strides in human and civil rights that bettered the lives of millions.

In a time of great uncertainty when the political divide is more pronounced than ever before in recent history, Kiyoshi's story gives us hope for what we all might accomplish in these difficult times . Further, through Kiyoshi's life of activism, he showed us the critical path we all must follow if we want to leave the world a better place . Kiyoshi is the movement ancestor we need at this inflection point in history. We will only get through this if our communities stand together to protect one another. His story has the power to mobilize a diverse chorus of voices to join the current movement for collective liberation as we fight for the soul of America.

CREATIVE TEAM: Glenn Holsten is the director. Keith Brand is the producer, along with co-producers Rob Buscher, Che Gossett and Teresa Jaynes. Olivia Holston is managing our social media outreach and our institutional partner is the William Way LGBT Center in Philadelphia,

Please help us complete this film about an important social justice pioneer. Your donation to Franklin Square Films, our 501c3 fiscal sponsor, is tax deductible.