Franklin Odo, a prominent Asian American Studies scholar, activist and long-time friend and supporter of Visual Communications, passed away on September 28, 2022. A third-generation Japanese American born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Franklin was a forebear in the Ethic Studies Movement. He was one of the 4 editors of the first anthology focusing on Asian Americans, Roots: An Asian American Reader, which became the nationwide standard textbook in Asian American Studies for many years, and the author of the first VC-published book, In Movement: A Pictorial History of Asian America.

Franklin’s legacy is imposing. We mourn the loss, commemorate and celebrate Franklin’s life and far-reaching contributions and impacts to the many individuals and communities he has touched and uplifted.