I chose Corky Lee because he was a photographer who mostly focused on photographing Asian Americans, who weren’t recognized for the work they did, because they were overlooked. At the time he started this work, he was one of the few people that understood the impact that Asian Americans were making by working without any recognition. He was bold and selfless while working to appreciate those who weren’t celebrated, but should have been. 

Corky was born and raised in Queens, New York, and grew up as one of four children. His parents owned a laundromat. When he turned 18 and was eligible to be drafted into the Vietnam War, he applied to a program that would allow him to be part of the military and participate in a way that didn’t require him to have weapons or join combat. He was asked to work with and serve poor communities in Chinatown. At this time, he started taking photos of Asian Americans “to document and challenge social, economic, and racial inequities.” His greatest achievement was a photo of a reenactment of the completion of the 1868 railroad. He replaced the White Americans in the original photo with family members of the Asian Americans, who actually deserved the credit for the hard work they put into building the railroad. Corky’s life's mission became to “change America one photograph at a time to correct historical inaccuracies, fight stereotypes and injustice, and celebrate the everyday struggles and accomplishments of AAPI communities.” He went on to translate voting ballots into Asian languages so that Asian Americans could vote and have representation in political decisions. His photography brought attention to the struggles and racism faced by the Asian American community. 

I decided to embroider the word “acknowledgement” in many Asian languages around the photo of Corky's reenactment of the completion of the 1868 railroad, which he is most well-known for. I chose to do this to represent the multiple languages spoken in Asian American communities by those whom Corky represented through his photos. 

Studying Corky Lee's work made me realize that you don’t have to be wealthy or famous to do something big and great to make a change and to work against racism. Having knowledge of his life allows me to share it with people I know. I am inspired to share Corky Lee’s legacy with others.