Community mourns Asian American photographer Corky Lee who died from COVID

ByCeFaan Kim WABC logo

Saturday, January 30, 2021

Community mourns photographer who died from COVID

CeFaan Kim has more on Corky Lee, a beloved photographer made it his mission in life to chronicle the forgotten members of his Asian American community.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- A photographer from New York City made it his mission in life to chronicle the forgotten members of his community, and his legacy will remain an inspiration even in his death.

"Photographs give Asian Americans visibility about their culture and about the history of Asians in this country and that's my primary mission," photographer Corky Lee said.

Lee would often say his camera was his sword to combat racial injustice.

For 50 years he wielded that sword, inspiring a movement.

Lee spoke to Newsy a few years ago about his iconic shot of protests against police brutality in the city.

"The image was so shocking to a white audience because people have never seen Chinese protesting police brutality," Lee said.

But his mission to fight for equality started with a photo he did not shoot.

"He said, 'there are no Chinese in this photograph, and we were there!' He was very offended," Corky Lee's brother John Lee said.

Corky Lee eventually recreated that photo, gathering six generations -- descendants of those Chinese workers missing from history books. He would call it photographic justice.

CeFaan Kim reports a barbershop in Chinatown is being credited for its effort to bring business back into the community.

"It's really American history that we're reclaiming because without the railroad this country wouldn't be what it is," Corky Lee said.

Lee died on Wednesday from COVID complications in his native Queens.

Journalist and friend Ti-Hua Chang says behind that lens was a heart that rivaled his passion.

"It's suspected he may have gotten COVID working on those patrols to stop the anti-Asian violence," Chang said. "He didn't get paid for this. He did this because of his love for the community, because of his activism and because he faced discrimination growing up in Chinatown and Queens."

Anytime you saw Lee snapping away, you would almost always see fellow journalist Shirley Ng by his side.

"We're just so shocked. And so numb," Ng said. "There's no one else even remotely close to who he is as a person."

He arguably left behind the single largest repository of photographic history of Asian Americans.