The story behind the picture can be read here. We stood where we once could not. Where my great-great grandmother, who was murdered by Nazis, could not stand. We stood to say we are here.
In my pursuit to visit as many New York City museums as possible this year, I went to the Museum of Chinese Americans. It was largely about the history and culture of the Chinese in America and the challenges, including racism, they face(d). In the exhibit exploring the definition of what it means to be a Chinese immigrant or even a United States citizen this was displayed:
Does it remind you of anything? Perhaps something you saw in your grade school history book?
Take a look at this and see what you can remember:
The famed railway which, in 1869, united the contiguous United States. Look at the picture closely. There are no Chinese in the photo though there were over 12,000 Chinese and Chinese Americans who helped build it. Many who took on dangerous tasks in desperation for a few dollars.
So why did the photographer want to go back and take a picture there with Chinese Americans? What do we accomplish by these photos? We are obviously here. Why take on the expense for a mere photo? What are you communicating by doing this?
In an article, Mr. Corky, the photographer, asks for participants to come "reclaim a bit of Asian American history."
Maybe when we go somewhere and we study the history we also change it. Some say history is dead. Maybe it is alive. Or if it is dead it does not rest in peace. It haunts us continuously by playing an incredibly active role in shaping our lives today. How we respond to it changes its impact and thereby changes the status of the past. It puts an intense power into our hands.
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