Elmer Ogawa papers, 1928-1971

Photographer and civic leader Elmer Ogawa (1906-1970) was born in Seattle, Washington to Japanese and German-Irish parents. Ogawa attended Queen Anne High School and the University of Washington before enlisting in the United States Army in 1942. After his military service, Ogawa worked as a freelance photographer and journalist. He primarily worked as a photographer in Seattle's International District but also worked as the Northwest columnist-photographer for the Pacific Citizen, a nationally circulating publication of the Japanese American Citizens League.

In addition to his professional life, Elmer Ogawa was an active community member. He was a member of the Seattle chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League from 1945 to 1970 and the Nisei Veterans Committee from 1949 to 1969. Ogawa served as a board member and photographer for the Jackson Street Community Council from 1952 to 1966. The Jackson Street Community Council was Seattle's first neighborhood advocacy group, founded in 1946 by a coalition of African American and Asian American community members.

Sources:

“Jackson Street Community Council (1946-1967) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed.” Accessed October 16, 2017. http://www.blackpast.org/aaw/jackson-street-community-council-1946-1967.