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.

I love receiving books from publishers that introduce me to authors/people I had no clue about. This is one of those books.

I am sad to say that I've never heard of Corky Lee until I received an arc of this book. But I am beyond thankful to have received a finished copy as well because it gave me the chance to peruse the pages at my own pace. Corky Lee captured so much of the Asian American experience throughout the decades, which gives readers an inside look at a people that are still stereotyped in the most heinous ways. Most assume all Asians know kung fu (they don't), do well in math (they don't), and are rich (they aren't). The "Model Minority" myth is just one of the ways in which Asian Americans have been harmed around the world and in America specifically.

The photographs in this book cover 50 years in the lives of Asian Americans, starting with the 70s, a time of immense change and turmoil. The book if chock full of images of protest and celebration. Asian Americans are seen carrying signs in the streets to protest violence against them at the hands of the police and corporate entities. Some show first and second generations, split in keeping with the traditions of their home countries and assimilating with the new one to become an American. But the photos also show the pride in each other and the cultures they brought to America.

The forward is written by Hua Hsu, whose book STAY TRUE almost destroyed me. He and other writers contribute to this book, giving readers their own insight into what Corky Lee means to them.

I HIGHLY recommend this book to all of my readers.

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