It’s been frustrating to see the Atlanta story unfold, and harder still to see America and the mainstream media finally catch up to what Asian Americans have known and felt for a year. The community was alarmed when Trump first uttered the slur “Kung Flu,” or mocked Asians by scrunching his face and bucking his teeth while saying “CHY-na Virus.”
When the leader of the free-world models racism, his mignons and followers listened. There are now nearly 4,000 instances of anti-Asian hate. We didn’t need Atlanta to know that, but it seems like the rest of the country did.
A lottery is about luck. Let’s be intentional about fixing racism in the schools. I mentioned some ways it could be done while keeping Lowell an academic school. But that would take some leadership and thought.
I say goodbye to Corky here as I read the piece from the AALDEF blog.
Then, listen to the 2017 conversation where Corky talks about his life and why the Transcontinental Railroad picture meant so much to him.
At the end, he gets emotional about his friend, historian Philip Choy who taught Chinese American history at San Francisco State University.
It’s a revealing moment in a conversation that shows Corky, the person, the man behind the lens, who at times was invisible to us all as he stalked the best shot at Asian American events.
It’s one of the few times we took the time to really talk to each other.
