Institute for Arts and Media

Charles Williams

Charles Williams (1908-1986)

Go to online collection

As an official photographer for the California Eagle and the Los Angeles Sentinel, Charles Williams took pictures that shaped the stories of the community beginning in the 1930s. In the 1940s, his career was interrupted  when Williams chose to relocate with his Japanese wife, Yoshi Kuwahara and their daughter to Chicago rather than have them sent to a relocation camp. After the war, Williams continued his career as a photographer for over forty years. He was beloved in his community, both for his role as the photographer and for the help he provided others. He died in 1986, according to his obituary, in service to a friend. 

Collection Includes:
Bill Sampson- Radio AnnouncerLionel Hampton
Billy MillsMayor Paulson
Bishop “Daddy” GraceMinister Williams
Butch WilliamsNat “King” Cole
Charles NorrisPearl Bailey, 1952
Dorothy QuesadaPeggy Lee
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Phil Moore
Duke EllingtonPresident Dwight Eisenhower
Gene MontgomeryRev. Taylor
Gilbert Lindsay-PoliticianRev. Clinton Moore
Harold WilliamsRichard Nixon
Helen DouglasRoy Milton
Historic Dunbar Hotel on Central Avenue, Los Angeles 1940Sarah Vaughn
Joe LouisSmiley Turner
Johnnie Cochran Sr. and Family, 1962Mayor Tom Bradley
Josephine Baker, 1951Warren Bracken
 Western Christian Leadership Council, Prayer Sunday with Dr. King, 1962