Celebrating Corky Lee

In honor of US Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, today's Doodle celebrates the life and work of Corky Lee, Chinese American photographer, journalist, and activist whose photos recorded the diversity and nuances of the Asian Pacific American community often overlooked by mainstream media. On this day in 1988, May 5th was proclaimed to be “Corky Lee Day” in honor of his lifelong contributions to New York City’s communities.

Lee was born in Queens, New York City to Chinese immigrant parents on September 5th, 1947. When he was in school as a young boy, he learned about the transcontinental railroad in social studies class. During the lesson, he saw a photo that celebrated the completion of the railroad—but noticed a lack of representation for the thousands of Chinese laborers who helped build it. Lee later shared that this event inspired his life’s work. He went on to teach himself photography and attended Queens College to study history.

Throughout his career, Lee attended protests, rallies, and demonstrations where he captured powerful moments that depicted the struggles and achievements of the Asian Pacific American community. Notably, in 1975, he snapped a photo of young Chinese American Peter Yew as he was dragged away by police. Yew had intervened upon witnessing a 15-year old boy being beaten by police for an alleged traffic violation. Yew was also severely beaten on the spot and at the station before being charged with resisting arrest and assaulting an officer. A week after the photo was taken, thousands of Chinatown residents gathered to protest the rampant police brutality in their neighborhoods.

Across his life, Lee’s photos were included in countless publications like Time Magazine, The New York Times, New York Post, and more. He also won many awards for his works, and his life has been covered in movies like Not on the Menu: Corky Lee’s Life and Work (2013) and Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story (2022).

Later in life, Lee often visited Promontory Summit in Utah to recreate the photo that had been taken when the transcontinental railroad was completed. He invited several descendants of the Chinese laborers who were not pictured back in 1869 in an effort to show that Asian American history is American history.

Thank you for your dedication to preserving the stories of so many, Corky. Yours, too, is not forgotten.

Special thanks to Corky’s brother, John "Johann" Lee, and E. Samantha Cheng for their collaboration on this Doodle. Below they share their thoughts on Corky’s legacy.
 

"Throughout our childhood, our parents expounded upon the importance of doing the right thing. Simply because it was the right thing to do and carried with it an implicit call to action. Perhaps they were prescient in giving Corky his Chinese name (Lee Young Kuo).  Loosely translated it means, “to praise”, “uplift the nation”, 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."

- John "Johann" Lee

"Although Corky is gone, his life's work and passion live on in his photographs. 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."

-E. Samantha Cheng, Founder and Executive Producer, Heritage Series LLC and APA Legacy

Discover more about the life and legacy of Corky Lee in “Seeing Asian America” as part of Asian American Arts Alliance’s collection on Google Arts & Culture.

Pictured: Young Corky Lee (circa 1971/1972) in Salt Lake City, during what was most likely his first scouting trip to Promontory Point

Courtesy of the Corky Lee estate

Pictured: Corky carrying Marge (his wife of 30 years) up the stairs of their first apartment on their wedding day in 1973

Courtesy of the Corky Lee estate