Dear AAJA photojournalists,
AAJA announced the winners of four of its top awards for 2009.
Corky Lee, a prolific photojournalist based in New York City is the recipient of AAJA’s Dr. Suzanne Ahn Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The award is named in honor of the late Dr. Ahn, a Korean American who was raised in Arkansas and Texas who devoted her life to promoting civil rights and social justice for all Americans, especially women and Asian Americans.
For over 35 years, Corky Lee has used his camera to ensure that the faces of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and their experiences be included in American history. Not only has he documented the civil rights struggle, he has claimed many of these stories and retold them through a very special lens. He has said, “I’d like to think that every time I take my camera out, it’s like drawing a sword to slay indifference, injustice and discrimination, trying to get rid of stereotypes.” At once intensely personal and socially conscious, he has a style of photojournalism that crosses the divides of different Asian American and Pacific Islander nationalities. From day-in-the-life to rarely seen photographs of civil rights struggles, he is imbedded with an unyielding passion for community activism.
AAJA will present the awards at the Seaport World Trade Center, Commonwealth Complex on Saturday, August 15 during its Gala Scholarship and Awards Banquet, at the AAJA National Convention in Boston.
Corky is also in charge of the AAJA Silent Photo Auction in Boston.
More info,
www.aajaphoto.org
Facebook: aaja photo
Twitter: @aajaphoto
Congrats Corky,
Paul Sakuma
AAJA Photo
psakuma@aol.com