Akiko “Aki” Kurose (1925-1998) was a peace activist and teacher in Seattle. She was Nisei, a second generation Japanese American. When Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from the West Coast, Kurose and her family were sent to the temporary detention center in Puyallup, then the Minidoka concentration camp. Kurose returned to Seattle in 1950 and soon became active in movements pushing for peace and social justice. These included the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the American Friends Service Committee, and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Kurose became interested in early childhood education in the 1960s and began teaching in 1974. A well-respected educator, Kurose was appointed to the National Advisory Council on the Education of Disadvantaged Children in 1980, was Seattle Teacher of the Year in 1985, and won the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Mathematics in 1990. In 1999, the Casper W. Sharples Junior High School in Rainier Beach was renamed Aki Kurose Middle School Academy in her honor. Aki Kurose Village, a family-friendly affordable housing community in North Seattle, also opened in 1999.

This image shows Kurose in 1992, when she was presented with the Big Sisters Leadership Role Model Award for her work in education.

Caption information source: "Aki Kurose," Densho Encyclopedia," retrieved from https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Aki_Kurose/
Caption information source: "Kurose, Aki (1925-1998)," by Jennifer Ott, HistoryLink, retrieved from https://www.historylink.org/File/9339