Macy's marks Lunar New Year

A Lunar New Year celebration co-hosted by Macy's and the Asian American Business Development Center honored Chinese-American photographer Corky Lee for his work chronicling the Asian-American experience.

"For over forty years, he's been documenting Asian-American history, life, and what's going on, and I think he has done a tremendous job on his own. We all want to give a big thanks for what he's been trying to do," said John Wang, president and founder of the Asian American Business Development Center, a non-profit that promotes recognition of Asian-American business contributions to the US.

"His work is exhibited at many places and many different organizations have recognized him for his work, so we thought it'd be great to honor him on his occasion," Wang said.

Corky Lee, who has been called the "Unofficial Asian-American Photographer Laureate," was born in Queens, New York in 1948. He documented key events in Asian-American life, inspiring community activism in the 1970s and 1980s. He photographed the protests that took place after the murder of Vincent Chin, who was the victim of a hate crime in Detroit in 1982.

"Nobody else is doing the job, and somebody's got to do it," Lee told China Daily prior to accepting the Community Service Award from the center. "I became an armchair historian to document and illuminate the struggles and the history of Asian Americans, not just the Chinese."

Edward Jay Goldberg, senior vice-president of Macy's public affairs, told China Daily that Macy's appreciates the relationship that the company has with the Asian community.

"One of the things I look forward to every year is to host the Lunar New Year celebration here at Macy's," he said. "This is our home and our home is your home, and we welcome you into our home every year at Lunar New Year. We wish the community the best of luck and that we continue to develop this long continued partnership."

The celebration took place at Macy's Herald Square location in New York, the largest department store in the US. Macy's is celebrating Lunar New Year from Feb 14-21 in its stores across the country.

It will be putting together New Year-themed events like traditional lion dances and fashion shows, and customers that spend $50 during the event will receive a Year of the Ram charm and have the opportunity to buy a Macy's Lunar New Year Tote.

"Macy's is committed to honoring the diverse cultures of our customers and employees," said William Hawthorne, senior vice-president of diversity strategies at Macy's. "Lunar New Year is a very special time of year to join our communities and celebrate."

"Supporting local cultures is a core Macy's value and we are so proud to be able to offer another exciting array of initiatives in 2015," he said.

There will be New Year's window displays at its locations in California, Hawaii, Washington State and New York. Nearly 50 stores nationwide will be offering an increased selection of Lunar New Year-themed merchandise.

"Red and black color palettes will be very prominent among handbags, assorted leather goods and intimate apparel. Also, special-edition cosmetics packaging in red and gold, Lunar New Year-branded gift cards and red envelopes and specially designed fashion jewelry in 32 styles," the department store said.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com