People were generally not using the term "Asian American" when Corky Lee started taking pictures of that community, in New York City's Chinatown. Over the next five decades, he documented Asian Americans celebrating life and countering racism all over the country.
Lee died in 2021, and now some of his best work is highlighted in the book . Columbia University history professor Mae Ngai, one of the book's editors, visits the JX to give radio descriptions of the work, and to talk about Corky Lee's impact.