11 Facts About Franklin Odo

Franklin S Odo was a Japanese American author, scholar, activist, and historian.

Franklin Odo was the first Asian Pacific American curator at the National Museum of American History.

Franklin Odo taught American Studies at Amherst College until his death.

Franklin Odo returned to Princeton University, where he completed a doctorate dissertation on Japanese feudalism in 1975.

Franklin Odo has taught for over 50 years at numerous academic institutions, most recently at Amherst College and the University of Maryland, College Park.

Franklin Odo was selected in 1997 to serve as the director of the program, and throughout his tenure, he has brought attention to Asian Pacific American culture and arts to various Smithsonian exhibits.

In 2003, Franklin Odo authored No Sword to Bury: Japanese Americans in Hawai'i During World War II, which explores the experiences of a shrinking group of Japanese American men who survived World War II as part of the Varsity Victory Volunteers.

Franklin Odo is the editor of the Columbia Documentary History of the Asian American Experience, the first book that brought together the canon of various documents pertinent to Asian Pacific American history.

Franklin Odo wrote Voices from the Canefields: folksongs from Japanese immigrant workers in Hawaii, which is about the Holehole bushi, a kind of folk song sung by Japanese plantation workers.

Franklin Odo used Harry Urata's collection of Holehole bushi recordings to write the book.

Franklin Odo was awarded the President's Award by the Japanese American Citizens League in July 2008, an award from the Organization of Chinese Americans in August 2008, and the Association for Asian American Studies Lifetime Achievement Award on April 14,2012.