Marjorie Lee, the librarian and archivist at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, has been recognized as a PBS SoCal and KCET Southern California 2022 Local Hero.
The awards recognize the accomplishments of those who are dedicated to making a difference in the community: recognizing activists, educators, community leaders and visionaries doing critical work that often goes unrecognized in Southern California.
“At UCLA, I am one of four professional academic librarians/archivists within the Institute of American Cultures whose mission includes preservational advocacy of and for unrepresented and underserved communities,” said Lee, who has been collecting, preserving and honoring the history of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center for more than 35 years. “I am deeply honored to be recognized for serving our communities as an activist campaigning and lobbying for ‘lost’, neglected records and evidence that deserve discovery, importance, and voice.”
Cynthia “Big Mama” Mendenhall, founder of Watts Chosen Angels, was also selected as a 2022 Local Hero.
Lee is also the recipient of the Chinese American Museum’s 2022 Heritage Keeper Award and the LAUC-LA 2009 Librarian of the Year.
