This book beautifully showcases the work of photographer Corky Lee, capturing decades of pivotal moments for the Asian American community. Spanning from the 1970s to the 2020s, it highlights movements for representation and equality, addressing issues like the COVID-19 pandemic and rising hate crimes against Asians. Lee's photographs feature prominent Asian American figures, including actors, politicians, and writers, such as Min Jin Lee, author of Pachinko.

Though focused primarily on the Chinese American experience, the book also covers significant events for other communities, including the fight for reparations for Japanese American internment and the impact of 9/11 on Sikh, Arab, and Muslim Americans. Lee's lens even captured South Asian protests against racial violence. Each photograph is accompanied by insightful commentary that explains its cultural and historical significance.

This book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in Asian American history, social justice movements, or photography. Lee’s work is a powerful reminder of the struggles and triumphs of the Asian American community over the past several decades

For fifty years, Corky Lee photographed the social justice movements in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities all across America in breathtaking pictures, where a selection of 200 photographs can be seen in this book. Corky Lee did important work with his pictures, breaking the stereotype of Asian Americans as submissive, being the underdog, passive, and, above all, foreign to this country. The book takes you to his photographs from the start of his photographer career in New York City's Chinatown in the 1970's to his sad passing because of Covid 19 in 2021. He photographed many social justice protests in primarily NYC Chinatown, which covered many issues and problems the AAPI community where facing; police brutality against Asian Americans, protests for yellowface and orientalism in shows like Miss Saigon, a commemoration ceremony of the building of the Transatlantic Railroad which erased the thousands Chinese workers who actually build the railroad with blood, sweat, tears and sometimes even their own life because of the harsh and inhuman working conditions, and the immediate effects and aftermath of 9/11 to NYC Chinatown, because the former World Trade Center and Ground Zero site was just a few block away from Chinatown, and as an effect Sikh communties where wrongly seen as terrorists, of the AAPI community proudly waving and wearing the American flag after 9/11 and the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on Asian communities in the USA, and the awful wave of anti-Asian hate and violence the pandemic caused.Corky Lee’s Asian America represents Lee’s mission to chronicle a history of inclusion, resistance, ethnic pride, and patriotism and it shows pictures that are never shown before
The story behind the impressive and moving pictures are told by Corky Lee himself, and the book contains contributions by artist Ai Weiwei, filmmaker Renée Tajima-Peña, writer Helen Zia, photographer Alan Chin, historian Gordon Chang, playwright David Henry Hwang, and more. and a foreword by writer Hua Hsu.

Corky Lee's Asian America is a book not to miss, I never heard of Corky Lee before, and this book opened my eyes to the important work he did of portraying the struggles many Asian Americans face, and the important social justice movement that this created. I truly believe that his pictures are important American history that needs to be preserved and protected, and that the voices of the AAPI community needs to be heard and never be silenced of erased from history again. I truly recommend reading, and in this case also watching the touching pictures by this fenomenous photographer that is truly one of a kind who did work that no one else did. And this book is one of a kind too!

4.5 stars

This is a beautiful collection of over 200 photographs by Corky Lee, our unofficial Asian American photographer laureate 🌟

Corky’s work documents Asian American communities in their everyday lives and their struggles for justice. Not only are they amazing pieces of art, but I am in awe of how Corky was always on the ground, capturing these communities and historical moments. The man didn’t stop!! 💪🏼 He was taking photos into his 70s, arthritic knees and all 😭, until he passed.

I first heard about Corky during my Asian American awakening in my mid-20s because of his photos documenting the advocacy around Vincent Chin’s murder and his photos of the reenactment of the completion of the transcontinental railroad featuring descendants of Chinese railroad workers (which I learned is coincidentally, his favorite piece of photographic justice).

The photos in this book were partially curated by Corky himself for a book that was never released and by his friends/colleagues after he passed. Also included are reflections from an impressive range of contributors including: Hua Hsu, Ai Weiwei, Renée Tajima-Peña, Helen Zia, David Henry Hwang, and more. However, I wanted the write ups to do a bit more—some felt impersonal and like they didn’t add much, so that lowered my rating.

I highly recommend this book if you are interested in Asian American history, activism, and art. It is a privilege to be able to look back at history through Corky’s photos.

Thank you Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press | Clarkson Potter for allowing me to read and review Corky Lee's Asian America
Fifty Years of Photographic Justice on NetGalley.

Published: 04/09/24

Stars: 4.5

Incredible.

I wasn't aware of Lee or his work prior to picking up this book. The photographs are amazing and timeless. Respectfully he had an eye for eyes. The photographs are lifelike. There are reportedly over 200 photographs with each one captioned. In addition there are short writings throughout describing the time period and what is happening.

I was impressed with the quality and saddened by a lot of the context.

This would be a great gift for one familiar with Lee, someone interested in history or a nonfiction reader.

Corky Lee captured so many important moments for the Asian American community, and this book did an amazing job displaying his photographs and explaining the cultural significance of each one. The book and his photographs span decades, from the start of the movement in the 1970s to the covid pandemic and hate crimes against Asians in the 2020s. It includes modern well-known Asian actors, political figures, and writers, even mentioning an Asian American writerʻs workshop which included Min Jin Lee, author of Pachinko, and how the push for representation and equality helped establish a platform for these modern figures. Although it is centered around the Chinese American experience given Corkyʻs background and upbringing in Chinatown, he photographed significant movements from other cultures like the calls for reparations for the internment of Japanese Americans in the US, the effect of 9/11 on Sikh, Arab, and Muslim communities in the US, and South Asians protesting racial violence. I would recommend this book to anyone with Asian American roots, people who love photography, and anyone interested in social justice movements over the years.

Thank you to Net Galley and and Clarkson Potter for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Corky Lee's 50+ years of photography specifically of the Asian American experience from the 1970s until his death in 2021 tells a vivid story of Asian Americans starting in Manhattan's Chinatown and branching to many other parts of the US, depending on where the story took him. The book is curated with wonderful photographs that tell the story accompanied by short essays but those who knew him, were involved in certain events or were affected by Corky's perseverance, strength and energy to document and change the lives of Asian Americans through his many endeavors. This is a must read for those especially interested in Asian American history. I highly recommend this book!

Corky Lee's Asian America is a combination of biography, essays on his influence and impact, as well as many of his photographs. Corky Lee photographed the Asian American community (API) for over 50 years until his tragic death from Covid in January 2021. He singularly changed perceptions about Asian Americans and debunked stereotypes by showing the advocacy and activism of multi-generations. He did not shy away from showing Japanese internment camp survivors or scenes of police brutality against Asians. But he also captured the beautiful lives, culture and history of Asian communities including Devon Street in Chicago (where I live) known for its Indian and Pakistani restaurants, stores, etc. His interest in photography started when he was young. He saw a photo in a textbook commemorating the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 which depicted a large crowd but no Asians - even though thousands of workers from southern China had done much of the backbreaking labor on the line. Before he died, Lee fulfilled a dream to restage the 1869 transcontinental railroad photograph by including the American-born descendants of the Chinese laborers who built the railroad. He is a great photographer and the subject of his photography is important for understanding the full history of America.

Thank you to Netgalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

I learned a lot that wasn't included in my school history classed from this book. Corky Lee brings the Asian American experience to the forefront through photographs. His pictures are very powerful and show just what was happening at different times in America. I found myself being sucked into the pictures because they were so powerful.

A retrospective of the activist/photojournalist known as the “undisputed, unofficial Asian American photographer laureate,” this book features best-of photos from Corky Lee's 50-year career. Spanning from the 1970s to 2021, these photos represent Lee's 50-year "quest for 'photographic justice.'" The book also features tribute essays by Asian Americans who knew and/or were influenced by Lee. These essays effectively contextualize Lee's photos in terms of Asian American and Pacific Islander history, particularly Chinese American history in New York City.  I learned so much about the history of Asian Americans' fight for social justice from this powerful and compelling collection of photos.

[Thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

This is an incredible tribute to Corky Lee, and I also love the essays about his life and recent Asian American history. These photographs were so amazing to be able to view, and I'm so thankful that this kind of book is going to be published that tells our history from a community lens. I also learned quite a bit about Chinese American history in NYC.

The Diverse Baseline

July Prompt C: A book by a BIPOC author with real people/models on the cover

As I try to educate myself on Asian American history, as American history books have next to nothing, I am rather embarrassed to say I did not know who Corky was before this book, or his important contributions to Asian American society as we know it. Unfortunately, he passed from COVID in 2021, but he leaves a history of photographs behind.

An early pioneer of social justice in NYC Chinatown, Corky's coverage of various Asian American events from the 1970s onward is truly great. He began his career capturing fellow Chinese Americans, but eventually sought out others from South and Southeast Asian communities.

These photographs and stories from friends are quite uplifting. They are an important history of inclusion, resistance, and ethnic pride. There is hate, but there is also love.

Photographs taken over a fifty year period, show the diverse Asian American community and how
the desire for civil rights and social justice is strong. Along with the photographs of protest demonstrations
are ones of culturral celebrations, people at work and at home. The photographs also
show that despite the progress made, racial stereotyping is still strong.
#CorkyLeesAsianAmericans #NetGalley

An excellent read for those interested in photography, Asain history (or history in general), and social justice topics. The emotional weight of some photos is strong but not overwhelming. The essays pair well with the photos, which provide an in-depth look at the AAPI culture that Corky was a part of.

What if you could change the world by taking pictures? We don't have to wonder, because Corky Lee did it. In this collection of interviews and photographs, we can see the intense impact Corky Lee made on the world around him by reflecting it back at us.
I read the book for the photos but this book is also full of history and celebrity. I kept thinking "I know this person!" and "I know that guy!" There were so many areas where Corky Lee made an impact. Corky Lee cared about important social issues and historical events as they were happening. At the end, there is an essay by someone who got help from Corky with an exhibition for a store opening. She describes how he also helped put up lights to make people feel safer in the neighborhood.
We lost Corky Lee too soon to an illness he might have been able to avoid if he hadn't stayed in the thick of things continuing to help people until the end of his life. Thanks so much to NetGalley for making this available to me