Expo shines light on photographer's works

A photography exhibition at Duke University showcases the work of Corky Lee, a Chinese-American photojournalist famous for capturing the daily lives, celebrations, activism and struggles of Asian Americans for more than 50 years.

The pictures, which accompany the late photographer's new book, are available for viewing through June at Duke's John Hope Franklin Center in Durham, North Carolina. It shows how Asians fought for social justice in the United States and their pivotal role in the country's history.

From the 1970s onward, Lee documented events ranging from the origins of the Asian American and Pacific Island movement, or AAPI, to the more recent activism that arose from the stop-AAPI hate campaign amid a surge in hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lee realized how powerful his documentary work was. He once said: "Every time I take my camera out of my bag, it is like drawing a sword to combat indifference, injustice and discrimination and trying to get rid of stereotypes."

In a new posthumous book, Corky Lee's Asian America: Fifty Years of Photographic Justice, more than 200 photos delve into the work of the man called the "undisputed, unofficial Asian American photographer laureate".

It features some of the images that he took of the community's struggle during the pandemic.

And earlier work on the re-enactment of the finished Transcontinental Railroad of 1869, which included descendants of Chinese railroad workers. It also included the protests for Vincent Chin, a Chinese-American man beaten to death by two white autoworkers in 1982.

Storied career

Friends, writers, artists and activists have paid homage to Lee's storied career.

Hua Hsu, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Stay True, a memoir, wrote in the foreword of Lee's book: "For generations, Corky taught us how to see ourselves — as individuals and as a community."

Mae Ngai, one of the editors of Lee's book, is a professor of Asian American studies and history and co-director of the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Columbia University.

Ngai attended the opening of the Duke photo exhibit in April and discussed Lee's pivotal work with Eileen Chow, the university's Asian and Middle Eastern studies professor.

She recalled how the legendary photographer's career took off after he scooped the mainstream press by photographing an activist protesting against the police beating of Peter Yew. The image landed on the front page of the New York Post and put Lee on the map. She also spoke of his character.

Ngai wrote in the book: "Corky Lee often introduced himself as an 'ABC from NYC' — an American-born Chinese from New York City. In this way, he conveyed a story about himself. Lee was a legendary storyteller.

Born in 1947 in New York to Chinese immigrant parents, Lee was a graduate of the city's Queens College, where he majored in history.

He began work as a community organizer in Chinatown in the 1970s. During a push for civil rights, he realized he wanted to document the everyday lives of those around him.

He was instrumental in pushing for mainstream media to include more AAPI culture. Over the next five decades, he photographed numerous cultural events and protests.

While Lee provided a front-row seat to the Chinese-US experience, he also famously photographed other Asian-American communities.