Google Doodle celebrates photographer Corky Lee UPI.com

May 5 (UPI) -- May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Asian-American photographer and activist Corky Lee, who brought attention to discrimination against the AAPI community, was honored with a Google Doodle. In 1998, May 5 was deemed Corky Lee Day.

Young Kwok Lee was born in Queens, N.Y., on Sept. 5, 1947. His parents were Chinese immigrants who settled in New York City. He says he was inspired to become a photographer after learning about how the nation's transcontinental railroad was built. But when it was completed in 1869, the famous photo of the 'last spike' being placed at Promontory Summit in Utah didn't include the thousands of Chinese workers who helped build it.