The memory of Corky Lee lives on.
A passionate photographer who gave so much of himself to the Asian American community is being remembered today with a Google Doodle.
Lee spent much of his life documenting the racism and discrimination he saw being perpetrated against Asian Americans.
In 1975, his photograph of a a young man, Peter Yew, being dragged away by police in New York, inspired thousands of Chinatown residents to rally against police brutality.
Lee had a sense of justice and used his lens to highlight it.
He brought hundreds of people together on several occasions to Promontory Point, UT to honor the Chinese who build the Transcontinental Railroad. A photograph taken at a ceremony in 1882 celebrating the completion of the railroad excluded those Chinese railroad workers.
Lee recreated that photograph, only this time making sure Chinese Americans were represented.
Lee’s girlfriend, Karen Zhou, accompanied him and documented that trip to Utah. Her photographs will be on display at the Chinatown Supermarket in South Salt Lake from May 9 – October 10.
A film about Lee’s life by Jennifer Takaki entitled Photographic Justice, The Corky Lee Story, will be screened at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival on May 7 and again at CAAMFEST in San Francisco on May 14.
“Throughout our childhood, our parents expounded upon the importance of doing the right thing,” said Corky’s brother Johann in a Google blog post. “And so he did. Through his lens, he gave Americans of Asian descent their history, pride, and dignity and reminded all Americans of Asian contributions to the national American mosaic. Corky raised the consciousness not only of his camera’s subjects but that of the nation as well.”
Lee died after a battle with COVID on January 27, 2021, at the age of 73. His photos have been seen in the New York Times, New York Post, Time Magazine and many other publications. They have also been displayed by the Smithsonian.
Samantha Cheng who assisted Google in honoring Corky, remembers him this way.
“Through his commitment to raising the visibility of all Asians and their contributions to America, his images have become tools to combat racism and bias and proof that we are all Americans,” said the Founder and Executive Producer, Heritage Series LLC and APA Legacy.
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