00:00:01.247 --> 00:00:03.830
(gentle music)

00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:13.096
(gentle music continues)

00:00:14.290 --> 00:00:15.640
- [Corky] Where do I begin?

00:00:16.510 --> 00:00:20.006
I generally refer to
myself as an ABC from NYC.

00:00:21.630 --> 00:00:24.430
Now, if you're Chinese,
you know what an ABC is:

00:00:24.430 --> 00:00:25.723
American-Born Chinese.

00:00:26.748 --> 00:00:28.693
NYC, well, that's really very easy.

00:00:29.893 --> 00:00:32.320
(gentle music continues)
(camera clicking)

00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:33.820
I've been photographing Asian Americans

00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:35.623
in New York City for 50 years.

00:00:37.810 --> 00:00:39.070
The last time I estimated the number

00:00:39.070 --> 00:00:41.590
of photographs I've taken, it came out

00:00:41.590 --> 00:00:44.018
to a little over 800,000.

00:00:44.018 --> 00:00:45.790
(camera clicking)

00:00:45.790 --> 00:00:47.680
- [Interviewee] Corky Lee is
one of the main documentarians

00:00:47.680 --> 00:00:49.990
of the Asian American movement.

00:00:49.990 --> 00:00:52.810
Social movements are so hard to capture

00:00:52.810 --> 00:00:56.260
and to put onto paper or put onto film.

00:00:56.260 --> 00:00:59.413
This is a story that
hasn't really been told.

00:01:01.570 --> 00:01:03.760
- [Interviewee 2] The collection he has

00:01:03.760 --> 00:01:06.220
is a testimony of our history,

00:01:06.220 --> 00:01:09.070
and that's why it's very, very important.

00:01:09.070 --> 00:01:12.940
- And with all these
events, and who do you see?

00:01:12.940 --> 00:01:15.730
You see Corky Lee taking pictures.

00:01:15.730 --> 00:01:18.460
- It isn't an Asian
Pacific American event if

00:01:18.460 --> 00:01:19.813
Corky Lee isn't around.

00:01:20.830 --> 00:01:22.750
- [Interviewee 3] We
exchanged business cards

00:01:22.750 --> 00:01:26.260
and I saw the "Undisputed
Unofficial Asian American

00:01:26.260 --> 00:01:28.510
Photographer Laureate."

00:01:28.510 --> 00:01:30.553
I just never heard of one.

00:01:32.260 --> 00:01:34.210
- [Interviewee 4] I don't
think anybody truly knows

00:01:34.210 --> 00:01:35.773
who Corky Lee is.

00:01:37.360 --> 00:01:40.810
They see that he is constantly there,

00:01:40.810 --> 00:01:44.443
and because of his constancy,
he's almost invisible.

00:01:46.720 --> 00:01:48.310
- [Interviewee 2] Where
does he get the energy to do

00:01:48.310 --> 00:01:50.053
all this year in, year out?

00:01:52.570 --> 00:01:55.060
- [Corky] I take photographs
that I think matter.

00:01:55.060 --> 00:01:57.703
Specifically has to do with
Asian Pacific Americans.

00:01:58.870 --> 00:02:01.670
That's something that the
average American does not see,

00:02:02.980 --> 00:02:06.550
and hopefully it opens a dialogue about

00:02:06.550 --> 00:02:07.783
our place in America.

00:02:11.320 --> 00:02:14.380
I don't think people need
to remember who I am.

00:02:14.380 --> 00:02:18.343
It's more important that
they remember the images.

00:02:20.440 --> 00:02:22.750
In all my photographs, I'm
trying to include pages

00:02:22.750 --> 00:02:25.090
that should be in American history books,

00:02:25.090 --> 00:02:26.293
but have been omitted.

00:02:29.770 --> 00:02:33.125
I'm practicing photographic justice.

00:02:33.125 --> 00:02:35.625
(light music)

00:02:36.532 --> 00:02:39.199
(camera clicks)

00:02:40.482 --> 00:02:42.611
(clicking continues)

00:02:51.711 --> 00:02:54.460
(film reel ticking)

00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:56.350
I think I realized I was Chinese

00:02:56.350 --> 00:02:58.783
from the minute I stepped into school.

00:02:59.702 --> 00:03:02.169
Most of the time we were
like the only Chinese family.

00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:06.130
I was born in Queens, 1947.

00:03:06.130 --> 00:03:09.460
My original birth certificate
said Lee Young Quoork.

00:03:09.460 --> 00:03:11.590
But by the time I was going to school,

00:03:11.590 --> 00:03:13.603
the kids were already calling me Corky.

00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:16.523
Other than my brothers,

00:03:16.523 --> 00:03:19.033
I was probably the only
Asian kid in the class.

00:03:21.250 --> 00:03:23.500
There's a lot of bullying
around in elementary schools.

00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:25.090
You don't have to be Asian.

00:03:25.090 --> 00:03:27.424
You could be a skinny kid or an obese kid.

00:03:27.424 --> 00:03:29.290
You know, you get picked on.

00:03:29.290 --> 00:03:32.470
You'd be called names and
getting taunted by kids

00:03:32.470 --> 00:03:34.720
who had no idea what being Chinese was.

00:03:34.720 --> 00:03:36.013
It was a constant.

00:03:43.990 --> 00:03:47.020
Growing up, reading a lot of comic books,

00:03:47.020 --> 00:03:49.270
I guess I wanted to be somewhat like some

00:03:49.270 --> 00:03:52.390
of those comic book heroes
in some form or another.

00:03:52.390 --> 00:03:56.200
I think comic books gave
you kind of a moral compass

00:03:56.200 --> 00:03:59.083
of what you might want to do in life,

00:04:00.580 --> 00:04:04.093
but didn't have any particular
superheroes that were Asian.

00:04:06.130 --> 00:04:07.380
You believe what you see.

00:04:08.722 --> 00:04:11.222
(light music)

00:04:14.040 --> 00:04:15.400
In junior high school,

00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:17.947
I first read about Chinese
building the railroad.

00:04:17.947 --> 00:04:19.568
(train horn blows)

00:04:19.568 --> 00:04:21.730
That was the first thing
in school that I had read

00:04:21.730 --> 00:04:25.142
that the Chinese had
contributed to the country.

00:04:25.142 --> 00:04:26.500
(bell clangs)

00:04:26.500 --> 00:04:27.940
It was like 12,000 of them.

00:04:27.940 --> 00:04:29.530
They toiled long and hard.

00:04:29.530 --> 00:04:31.180
A lot of them died along the way.

00:04:32.320 --> 00:04:35.890
And at the time it was a
major engineering achievement.

00:04:35.890 --> 00:04:38.410
It was like the equivalent
of building the Panama

00:04:38.410 --> 00:04:39.793
or the Suez Canal.

00:04:41.590 --> 00:04:44.560
But when they showed the
photograph of the completion

00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:48.880
of the railroad, with the two
locomotives joining together,

00:04:48.880 --> 00:04:50.130
I didn't see any Chinese.

00:04:52.600 --> 00:04:55.153
I thought maybe it's because
my eyesight was poor.

00:04:56.290 --> 00:04:58.990
I took off my glasses
and looked really close,

00:04:58.990 --> 00:04:59.823
I didn't see any,

00:04:59.823 --> 00:05:03.160
so I got a magnifying
glass and then looked.

00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:06.337
I said, "Dammit, there
aren't any Chinese here!"

00:05:07.570 --> 00:05:09.580
The audacity, they didn't want the Chinese

00:05:09.580 --> 00:05:11.953
to be photographed as
part of the celebration.

00:05:14.050 --> 00:05:16.570
And I think it sort of
worked in the back of my head

00:05:16.570 --> 00:05:18.493
for a really long, long time.

00:05:22.542 --> 00:05:25.125
(parade music)

00:05:29.388 --> 00:05:32.805
(parade music continues)

00:05:38.255 --> 00:05:41.672
(parade music continues)

00:05:42.549 --> 00:05:45.299
(drumming music)

00:05:51.077 --> 00:05:54.160
(drumming continues)

00:05:55.997 --> 00:05:58.390
When you photograph these
parades and cultural events,

00:05:58.390 --> 00:05:59.650
I'm also networking.

00:05:59.650 --> 00:06:01.780
This is one way of maintaining contact

00:06:01.780 --> 00:06:03.187
within your community.

00:06:04.440 --> 00:06:05.835
On an annual basis,

00:06:05.835 --> 00:06:09.615
I'll photograph Lunar New Year
for the Chinese community,

00:06:09.615 --> 00:06:14.420
but there's also a Lunar New
Year that Koreans observe.

00:06:14.420 --> 00:06:16.900
(festive music)

00:06:16.900 --> 00:06:20.650
March is Holi, or Phaghwah,
if you're from the Caribbean,

00:06:20.650 --> 00:06:22.543
and that's basically for Indians.

00:06:24.084 --> 00:06:27.550
April is Thai New Year,

00:06:27.550 --> 00:06:30.430
and there's a Sikh
observance of the beginning

00:06:30.430 --> 00:06:31.393
of their religion.

00:06:32.410 --> 00:06:35.830
May is Santacruzan, which
is a Filipino festival

00:06:35.830 --> 00:06:38.563
that has Roman Catholic roots.

00:06:39.850 --> 00:06:42.550
But there's also the Asian
Pacific Heritage Festival

00:06:42.550 --> 00:06:45.073
that got started beginning in 1979.

00:06:47.230 --> 00:06:49.810
July, you have the Japanese Obon Festival

00:06:49.810 --> 00:06:51.253
to honor the deceased.

00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:59.140
By August, you have
Pakistan Independence Day

00:06:59.140 --> 00:07:01.003
and Indian Independence Day.

00:07:05.290 --> 00:07:08.383
September you have the annual
Muslim Unity Day parade.

00:07:09.790 --> 00:07:11.110
By October, November,

00:07:11.110 --> 00:07:14.263
you have a Korean Harvest
parade that takes place.

00:07:15.670 --> 00:07:18.370
And then there was
Diwali, an Indian festival

00:07:18.370 --> 00:07:21.763
generally towards October
going into November.

00:07:23.440 --> 00:07:25.564
For most of the festivals, I try to get

00:07:25.564 --> 00:07:28.509
the context in which these immigrants are

00:07:28.509 --> 00:07:30.400
in this country, in New York City.

00:07:30.400 --> 00:07:34.030
So the juxtaposition of the
photographs will show something

00:07:34.030 --> 00:07:36.340
of their culture and something
about New York culture

00:07:36.340 --> 00:07:37.513
or American culture.

00:07:38.410 --> 00:07:39.970
Asian Pacific Islanders are

00:07:39.970 --> 00:07:42.103
part and parcel of the fabric of America.

00:07:44.084 --> 00:07:46.917
(traffic humming)

00:07:50.410 --> 00:07:52.270
I didn't pick up photography until

00:07:52.270 --> 00:07:54.910
after I got out of college.

00:07:54.910 --> 00:07:57.070
When you graduate with American History,

00:07:57.070 --> 00:07:59.200
you could probably become a teacher,

00:07:59.200 --> 00:08:02.650
but I don't think I was
cut out for teaching.

00:08:02.650 --> 00:08:04.700
I really didn't know what I was gonna do.

00:08:05.830 --> 00:08:08.350
I happened to get a job at Two
Bridges Neighborhood Council

00:08:08.350 --> 00:08:12.013
as a community organizer in
Chinatown, probably 1970.

00:08:12.850 --> 00:08:15.943
I took a series of photographs
of violations in buildings.

00:08:17.140 --> 00:08:21.850
There was exposed wiring,
the lack of proper mailboxes,

00:08:21.850 --> 00:08:24.730
heat and hot water and
all this sort of stuff.

00:08:24.730 --> 00:08:27.730
I would organize the tenants
to withhold their rent.

00:08:27.730 --> 00:08:30.673
Eventually, the landlord would
agree to make the repairs,

00:08:31.780 --> 00:08:34.090
so then you could show the
tenant in the next building

00:08:34.090 --> 00:08:37.123
or down the block, you
can get this stuff done!

00:08:41.290 --> 00:08:44.104
That sort of set my course.

00:08:44.104 --> 00:08:47.014
(light music)

00:08:47.014 --> 00:08:51.854
♪ We are the children
of the migrant worker ♪

00:08:51.854 --> 00:08:56.361
♪ We are the offspring of
the concentration camps ♪

00:08:56.361 --> 00:09:00.684
♪ Sons and daughters of
the railroad builder ♪

00:09:00.684 --> 00:09:03.757
♪ Who leave their stamp on America ♪

00:09:03.757 --> 00:09:07.960
- Chinatown in the seventies
was a really happening place.

00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:12.010
I lived in sort of a commune
with about eight people.

00:09:12.010 --> 00:09:15.940
We formed something called
Asian Media Collective, AMC.

00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:18.310
The purpose of Asian Media
Collective pretty much was

00:09:18.310 --> 00:09:23.310
to document and disseminate
what was taking place

00:09:23.620 --> 00:09:26.110
within the Asian American
Movement as it pertains

00:09:26.110 --> 00:09:27.977
to New York or the East Coast.

00:09:27.977 --> 00:09:31.109
♪ Sing a song for ourselves ♪

00:09:31.109 --> 00:09:32.770
- [Corky] The Asian American
Movement got started

00:09:32.770 --> 00:09:33.850
in direct response

00:09:33.850 --> 00:09:36.670
to the Black Civil Rights
Movement of the sixties

00:09:36.670 --> 00:09:39.722
- how to organize, how to
rally people - fighting for

00:09:39.722 --> 00:09:42.735
identity, equality,
equal pay, equal rights.

00:09:42.735 --> 00:09:46.060
♪ We got the right to choose ♪

00:09:46.060 --> 00:09:49.060
- What Asian Americans realized,

00:09:49.060 --> 00:09:52.360
along with other people of
color in the late sixties,

00:09:52.360 --> 00:09:55.266
was that what was called
history at that point

00:09:55.266 --> 00:09:57.085
was not everyone's history.

00:09:57.085 --> 00:10:01.570
- Minority communities were
not getting an even break

00:10:01.570 --> 00:10:03.850
in the newspapers or on television.

00:10:03.850 --> 00:10:06.430
Corky was always there.

00:10:06.430 --> 00:10:08.890
He knew when to go, when to get
out, when to leave the house

00:10:08.890 --> 00:10:12.580
and go down and see what
was happening in the street.

00:10:12.580 --> 00:10:14.440
He learned to recognize, okay,

00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:15.940
I may not have an assignment on this,

00:10:15.940 --> 00:10:17.413
but this is gonna be a story.

00:10:20.350 --> 00:10:24.820
- [Corky] 1975, all the
businesses closed in Chinatown

00:10:24.820 --> 00:10:27.460
at the height of this civil rights protest

00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:29.011
against police brutality.

00:10:29.011 --> 00:10:30.707
♪ Protest chanting ♪

00:10:30.707 --> 00:10:32.290
♪ Protest chanting ♪

00:10:32.290 --> 00:10:35.350
- The policemen wanted to
move a certain section,

00:10:35.350 --> 00:10:37.303
and people weren't willing to move.

00:10:38.680 --> 00:10:40.600
So the police started to push

00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:44.710
and then eventually one
of them swung a billy club

00:10:44.710 --> 00:10:46.003
and hit this individual.

00:10:47.410 --> 00:10:51.220
I had actually been pretty
close, probably within six feet,

00:10:51.220 --> 00:10:55.600
and there was no cause to hit the guy.

00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:57.820
Immediately, I called
up The New York Times

00:10:57.820 --> 00:10:59.410
and they said they had
their photographer there,

00:10:59.410 --> 00:11:01.930
but they didn't know of
any outbreak of violence.

00:11:01.930 --> 00:11:03.280
I called The Daily News,

00:11:03.280 --> 00:11:04.870
they didn't wanna see the photograph.

00:11:04.870 --> 00:11:06.370
And then The New York Post said they

00:11:06.370 --> 00:11:07.510
had their photographer there.

00:11:07.510 --> 00:11:08.770
I said, well, my photographs show

00:11:08.770 --> 00:11:10.390
that somebody got beaten up

00:11:10.390 --> 00:11:12.490
and the police are taking him away!

00:11:12.490 --> 00:11:15.193
And then there was a little bit

00:11:15.193 --> 00:11:17.860
of a silence on the
other end of the phone,

00:11:17.860 --> 00:11:19.180
and then they came back to me

00:11:19.180 --> 00:11:21.847
and said, "Okay, kid, bring it in."

00:11:24.966 --> 00:11:26.266
And I made the front page.

00:11:31.692 --> 00:11:33.400
(camera clicks)

00:11:33.400 --> 00:11:35.950
- That photograph in The New York Post,

00:11:35.950 --> 00:11:38.440
that was a breakthrough for Corky,

00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:42.193
and I think for us, in terms
of representing the issues.

00:11:43.150 --> 00:11:46.330
I think it was the first time
we showed city government

00:11:46.330 --> 00:11:50.173
that the community could
organize into a political force.

00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:56.863
- The Asian American Movement
started in late 1960s.

00:11:58.030 --> 00:11:59.383
At that time,

00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:05.323
there was really no quote
unquote Asian American identity.

00:12:07.810 --> 00:12:10.450
We were a bunch of different groups;

00:12:10.450 --> 00:12:13.390
Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos.

00:12:13.390 --> 00:12:18.340
But the fact that the bigger
society see us as one group

00:12:18.340 --> 00:12:20.860
and forcing us to realize that we have

00:12:20.860 --> 00:12:22.328
to group together to fight.

00:12:22.328 --> 00:12:27.328
(upbeat music)
(camera clicks)

00:12:31.270 --> 00:12:33.820
- Those were the Vietnam years.

00:12:33.820 --> 00:12:36.190
People were being drafted

00:12:36.190 --> 00:12:39.490
and Chinese kids, just
like everybody else,

00:12:39.490 --> 00:12:40.783
were sent to Vietnam.

00:12:43.450 --> 00:12:46.390
- I don't think anybody
want to get drafted. Okay?

00:12:46.390 --> 00:12:48.190
Because they're all
from immigrant families,

00:12:48.190 --> 00:12:50.500
they may have been the first generation

00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:51.793
to get into college.

00:12:53.140 --> 00:12:56.800
Some people who got
drafted wound up in Japan

00:12:56.800 --> 00:13:00.703
or Germany; other people, like my brother,

00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:03.730
got drafted and he wound up

00:13:03.730 --> 00:13:05.833
looking over the border into Cambodia.

00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:12.766
- My brother Jimmy, he was
the only Asian in his platoon.

00:13:12.766 --> 00:13:15.880
On the first day of
jungle warfare training,

00:13:15.880 --> 00:13:18.367
the drill sergeant says
"Lee! Front and center!"

00:13:19.540 --> 00:13:22.480
Jimmy jumps up, does a
snappy front and center,

00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.273
standing right next to the drill sergeant.

00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:29.593
The drill sergeant takes
one step to the side,

00:13:30.490 --> 00:13:33.280
points directly at my brother Jimmy

00:13:33.280 --> 00:13:35.867
and says, quote,

00:13:35.867 --> 00:13:39.127
"This is what the enemy looks like."

00:13:42.527 --> 00:13:45.027
(light music)

00:13:50.122 --> 00:13:53.455
(light music continues)

00:13:55.119 --> 00:13:58.330
- What the Asian American
Movement was built on was this

00:13:58.330 --> 00:14:01.360
critique of the war as imperialist

00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:04.753
and racist. That somehow Asian
American lives were cheap.

00:14:05.680 --> 00:14:08.080
A lot of Asian Americans were
actually very radicalized

00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:09.490
by this critique of the war

00:14:09.490 --> 00:14:12.643
and by looking at these images
of the atrocities in the war.

00:14:14.350 --> 00:14:16.180
- We didn't wanna go to Vietnam.

00:14:16.180 --> 00:14:18.910
We always felt that that was
a war that it should not,

00:14:18.910 --> 00:14:20.383
we should not be involved in.

00:14:22.270 --> 00:14:23.897
So a friend of ours,

00:14:23.897 --> 00:14:25.750
"You should meet this guy Corky Lee.

00:14:25.750 --> 00:14:27.910
He's a draft counselor."

00:14:27.910 --> 00:14:29.810
And that's the first time I met Corky.

00:14:31.630 --> 00:14:33.970
- [Corky] I was a conscientious objector.

00:14:33.970 --> 00:14:35.800
And then I basically started to try

00:14:35.800 --> 00:14:39.193
to help other Asians get draft deferment.

00:14:40.630 --> 00:14:45.253
- We were doing all kinds of
anti-war, civil rights action.

00:14:46.180 --> 00:14:48.340
And I remember always
seeing this guy coming

00:14:48.340 --> 00:14:50.560
around with a camera.

00:14:50.560 --> 00:14:53.200
At first we said, you know,
who the hell is this guy?

00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:55.750
Is he a cop taking pictures?

00:14:55.750 --> 00:14:57.700
But then after a while, we get used to him

00:14:57.700 --> 00:15:00.970
because we also know that how
important is media in terms

00:15:00.970 --> 00:15:02.890
of what we're doing.

00:15:02.890 --> 00:15:06.280
We understood if something is not recorded

00:15:06.280 --> 00:15:08.890
either by television, or
by Corky, or by anybody,

00:15:08.890 --> 00:15:11.317
then something never happened.

00:15:12.367 --> 00:15:14.950
(upbeat music)

00:15:19.859 --> 00:15:23.276
(upbeat music continues)

00:15:25.072 --> 00:15:25.952
♪ There's Corky! ♪

00:15:25.952 --> 00:15:27.072
♪ Where? ♪

00:15:27.072 --> 00:15:29.843
♪ They're closing a
Chinatown subway stop ♪

00:15:29.843 --> 00:15:30.730
♪ There's Corky! ♪

00:15:30.730 --> 00:15:31.979
♪ Where? ♪

00:15:31.979 --> 00:15:34.832
♪ There's anti-immigrant agit-prop ♪

00:15:34.832 --> 00:15:35.665
♪ There's Corky! ♪

00:15:35.665 --> 00:15:36.810
♪ Where? ♪

00:15:36.810 --> 00:15:39.490
♪ There with Governor Gary Locke ♪

00:15:39.490 --> 00:15:44.490
♪ There's anti-Asian
hate crime in Queens ♪

00:15:44.543 --> 00:15:49.543
♪ It's tough being Corky Lee ♪

00:15:53.893 --> 00:15:55.780
♪ How does he do it? ♪

00:15:55.780 --> 00:15:57.768
♪ Well I don't know ♪

00:15:57.768 --> 00:16:00.192
♪ But he's at every protest ♪

00:16:00.192 --> 00:16:03.461
♪ He's at every show ♪

00:16:03.461 --> 00:16:07.968
♪ Why, he's where the
Asian American action is ♪

00:16:07.968 --> 00:16:09.821
♪ Shooting politicians ♪

00:16:09.821 --> 00:16:13.032
♪ To performance artists ♪

00:16:13.032 --> 00:16:16.782
♪ It's tough being Corky Lee ♪

00:16:21.088 --> 00:16:24.505
(upbeat music continues)

00:16:27.875 --> 00:16:29.897
(upbeat music continues)

00:16:32.422 --> 00:16:35.172
(birds chirping)

00:16:40.150 --> 00:16:41.860
- Probably, my earliest memory is living

00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:44.023
on Hollis Avenue in Queens.

00:16:45.041 --> 00:16:45.943
It was 205.

00:16:48.070 --> 00:16:50.263
We lived in a hand-laundry.

00:16:52.870 --> 00:16:56.530
My father had come in 1929 from Toisan,

00:16:56.530 --> 00:17:00.340
about 90 miles southwest of Canton.

00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:03.163
During the Depression, he
had worked in laundries,

00:17:04.990 --> 00:17:07.450
but by the time the Second War broke out,

00:17:07.450 --> 00:17:09.730
he was working in the Camden Navy Yard

00:17:09.730 --> 00:17:12.463
and he learned how to weld aluminum.

00:17:13.900 --> 00:17:16.780
When he was drafted, there
was a segregated unit

00:17:16.780 --> 00:17:20.830
of Chinese Americans that
wound up on the Burma Road

00:17:20.830 --> 00:17:22.513
working behind the lines.

00:17:23.500 --> 00:17:28.360
By '46, as a result of the War Brides Act,

00:17:28.360 --> 00:17:30.310
my father was able to bring my mom

00:17:30.310 --> 00:17:32.593
over with my older sister.

00:17:33.970 --> 00:17:35.953
So I was born a year later,

00:17:37.090 --> 00:17:39.223
and then I had three brothers after that.

00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:44.770
After the war, my dad wanted

00:17:44.770 --> 00:17:49.213
to really pursue arc welding,
but nobody would hire him.

00:17:51.220 --> 00:17:53.023
He had four kids to feed,

00:17:53.950 --> 00:17:56.103
so he went back in the laundry business.

00:17:56.103 --> 00:17:58.010
That was something that he knew

00:17:59.230 --> 00:18:02.833
and he settled down and
basically had a family.

00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:08.470
Growing up, I wouldn't say that

00:18:08.470 --> 00:18:10.273
I had a really happy childhood.

00:18:12.940 --> 00:18:16.300
I had responsibilities that I didn't want,

00:18:16.300 --> 00:18:18.150
maybe it's because I'm the first son,

00:18:19.314 --> 00:18:23.290
that I had to do all the
household chores like cooking,

00:18:23.290 --> 00:18:24.553
which I hated doing.

00:18:26.380 --> 00:18:29.320
Then I had to work in
the laundry business.

00:18:29.320 --> 00:18:31.750
For my dad in the laundry
business, it was like,

00:18:31.750 --> 00:18:34.870
I always kept asking him,
why do I have to do this?

00:18:34.870 --> 00:18:36.570
I don't see anybody else doing it.

00:18:42.773 --> 00:18:47.773
My dad, he was pretty
authoritative, non-communicative.

00:18:47.890 --> 00:18:49.930
He always expected the best of you

00:18:49.930 --> 00:18:52.033
and would demand nothing less.

00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:59.233
Over the years, I tried to
understand him a little better.

00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:03.160
Like a lot of immigrants,

00:19:03.160 --> 00:19:05.530
they were frustrated because this culture,

00:19:05.530 --> 00:19:07.450
American culture was really new to them

00:19:07.450 --> 00:19:09.940
and they were trying to
preserve their culture

00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:11.890
and heritage and so forth.

00:19:11.890 --> 00:19:15.073
And it ran counter to what
their children were doing.

00:19:18.700 --> 00:19:21.190
He had hoped that I would
be a doctor or something,

00:19:21.190 --> 00:19:26.190
or a lawyer, but I wanted
to be something artistic.

00:19:26.663 --> 00:19:29.163
(light music)

00:19:30.370 --> 00:19:32.890
I was actually the last
one to see my dad alive.

00:19:32.890 --> 00:19:35.743
He passed away in 1982.

00:19:37.120 --> 00:19:39.820
He was in the VA hospital at the time.

00:19:39.820 --> 00:19:41.200
The doctor was telling me, "Oh,

00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:43.480
I didn't know you were that famous."

00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:44.897
I said, "What are you talking about?"

00:19:44.897 --> 00:19:46.390
"Oh, this is what your dad said."

00:19:46.390 --> 00:19:49.060
He said, "Yeah, you're really famous.

00:19:49.060 --> 00:19:50.887
I'm happy to know you."

00:19:51.910 --> 00:19:54.110
I said, "Oh, my dad
said all that about me?"

00:19:55.859 --> 00:19:59.192
(light music continues)

00:20:01.121 --> 00:20:04.001
(birds chirping)

00:20:04.001 --> 00:20:08.001
(all speaking Toisanese)

00:20:09.841 --> 00:20:13.000
- Hey, how do you turn on Mom's DVD?

00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:14.980
- Let's try it this way.

00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:16.360
- [Corky] This is my mom and dad

00:20:16.360 --> 00:20:17.760
when they first got married.

00:20:18.910 --> 00:20:21.430
- Gotta be 1934 or '33.

00:20:21.430 --> 00:20:26.430
Yeah, my father's father and his mother.

00:20:27.050 --> 00:20:28.990
(mother speaking Toisanese)

00:20:28.990 --> 00:20:30.250
- I made it!

00:20:30.250 --> 00:20:32.710
- Mom wants to say that
she made these handmade

00:20:32.710 --> 00:20:33.643
flowers over here.

00:20:34.570 --> 00:20:36.481
She's got other flowers over here.

00:20:36.481 --> 00:20:37.862
- [Mother] I made it!

00:20:37.862 --> 00:20:40.085
- That's where Corky gets it from.

00:20:40.085 --> 00:20:40.960
From our mother's side.

00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:44.080
- I think Corky had a
way of pushing himself

00:20:44.080 --> 00:20:45.728
even when he was little.

00:20:45.728 --> 00:20:46.561
- [Corky] That's me.

00:20:46.561 --> 00:20:48.700
- [Sister] He always wanted to lead,

00:20:48.700 --> 00:20:51.175
and always want to be the best.

00:20:51.175 --> 00:20:53.316
(mother speaking Toisanese)

00:21:04.398 --> 00:21:05.557
- [Sister] There was a Chinese--

00:21:05.557 --> 00:21:06.390
- [Brother] The newspaper.

00:21:06.390 --> 00:21:08.080
- [Sister] The World Journal.

00:21:08.080 --> 00:21:09.760
- In 2001, she read in the papers

00:21:09.760 --> 00:21:12.100
that I had this exhibit at the Museum

00:21:12.100 --> 00:21:13.690
of Chinese in the Americas.

00:21:13.690 --> 00:21:15.700
So she gathered up some of her friends,

00:21:15.700 --> 00:21:17.860
they huffed and puffed
up to the second floor,

00:21:17.860 --> 00:21:19.990
and they were just about closing.

00:21:19.990 --> 00:21:23.230
So she said that, "I'm Corky Lee's mom.

00:21:23.230 --> 00:21:26.077
What do you mean I can't
come in to see the exhibit?"

00:21:26.917 --> 00:21:30.250
They said, "Oh, a thousand
pardons Mrs. Lee!"

00:21:30.250 --> 00:21:32.440
They opened the door and they let Mom

00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:34.543
and her friends go in to see the exhibit.

00:21:34.543 --> 00:21:37.126
(all laughing)

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(plastic rustling)

00:21:51.190 --> 00:21:53.800
See, this is basically my filing system.

00:21:53.800 --> 00:21:56.980
My contact sheets are
kept with the negatives

00:21:56.980 --> 00:21:59.260
and I have one print from the entire roll,

00:21:59.260 --> 00:22:00.790
which will be this one.

00:22:00.790 --> 00:22:04.753
So this will help me locate
it a little bit faster.

00:22:09.700 --> 00:22:12.280
I've always said that I'm
a self-taught photographer.

00:22:12.280 --> 00:22:14.680
I learned from trial and error.

00:22:14.680 --> 00:22:17.563
Every photograph is something
a little bit different.

00:22:18.670 --> 00:22:20.590
So this photograph of Lily Chow,

00:22:20.590 --> 00:22:22.750
the original negative was kind of flat,

00:22:22.750 --> 00:22:25.042
so I made it a little more contrastier.

00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:29.200
This one's from Columbia University.

00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:31.720
They had taken over Hamilton Hall

00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:35.590
to initiate Ethnic Studies.

00:22:35.590 --> 00:22:37.843
I think it was '95 or '97.

00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:40.480
This was the Edward Moody case,

00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:42.580
who was Indian American.

00:22:42.580 --> 00:22:44.350
This is in Arlington Cemetery,

00:22:44.350 --> 00:22:48.520
and it was a memorial
service there for the opening

00:22:48.520 --> 00:22:50.140
of the Smithsonian Exhibit

00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:52.630
on Japanese American concentration camps.

00:22:52.630 --> 00:22:55.150
I generally use a wide
angle lens and I move close.

00:22:55.150 --> 00:22:59.080
So you get the whole
landscape of what I am seeing.

00:22:59.080 --> 00:23:00.793
For me, that's my style.

00:23:02.560 --> 00:23:04.840
I used to come in

00:23:04.840 --> 00:23:08.597
after work pretty much on a weekly basis

00:23:08.597 --> 00:23:12.100
and I would print for several hours.

00:23:12.100 --> 00:23:13.900
Back then the darkrooms were cheap.

00:23:13.900 --> 00:23:17.980
They were like maybe $6
an hour, so I can print

00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:21.223
to my heart's content and not
spend a whole lot of money.

00:23:24.940 --> 00:23:27.100
I have a much broader definition

00:23:27.100 --> 00:23:28.573
of the Asian American Movement.

00:23:29.560 --> 00:23:31.840
Nathan's Hotdog Contest.

00:23:31.840 --> 00:23:34.720
There happened to be two Asian women.

00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:35.980
They both weigh about 105.

00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:38.890
They're 40 and 41 years old.

00:23:38.890 --> 00:23:41.230
In 10 minutes, between both of them,

00:23:41.230 --> 00:23:43.303
they finished 75 hot dogs.

00:23:44.290 --> 00:23:48.760
This is the first time that
an Asian American woman won.

00:23:48.760 --> 00:23:51.520
Could be a dubious note
in Asian American history,

00:23:51.520 --> 00:23:53.110
but it's also very American.

00:23:53.110 --> 00:23:53.983
All right?

00:23:54.970 --> 00:23:57.720
Consuming as many hotdogs as
you can on the 4th of July!

00:23:58.870 --> 00:24:01.300
That's bringing, in my mind,

00:24:01.300 --> 00:24:05.653
an Asian American presence
into the American landscape.

00:24:06.610 --> 00:24:09.820
The more that this happens, it solidifies

00:24:09.820 --> 00:24:11.737
our space in this country.

00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:20.380
(traffic humming)
(indistinct talking)

00:24:24.670 --> 00:24:27.430
Being freelance is really hard to kind

00:24:27.430 --> 00:24:29.533
of gauge your finances.

00:24:31.450 --> 00:24:36.220
But I don't know if I could
work well in a journalistic

00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:39.970
organization because if
they wanted me to go out

00:24:39.970 --> 00:24:42.910
to photograph an Azalea
Festival, and I happened to know

00:24:42.910 --> 00:24:45.760
that there's something else
that I think is better.

00:24:45.760 --> 00:24:47.320
I would probably challenge the editor

00:24:47.320 --> 00:24:48.340
and say, "Well listen,
I don't think that's

00:24:48.340 --> 00:24:49.537
really that important."

00:24:51.130 --> 00:24:53.800
A lot of my photographs
I do get published,

00:24:53.800 --> 00:24:55.840
were in the ethnic press

00:24:55.840 --> 00:24:58.693
'cause mainstream press
really wasn't interested.

00:25:00.220 --> 00:25:02.380
I had to sell myself,
be it Associated Press

00:25:02.380 --> 00:25:05.080
or any of the newspapers,
trying to get people

00:25:05.080 --> 00:25:08.713
to accept a photograph that was important.

00:25:10.540 --> 00:25:13.420
I got dubbed by the people
in Associated Press,

00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:15.970
the Asian Demo Photographer

00:25:15.970 --> 00:25:17.777
They would kind of under their breath,

00:25:17.777 --> 00:25:20.348
"It's Corky Lee, he's got
another protest." You know?

00:25:22.413 --> 00:25:25.033
And as often as I was successful,

00:25:25.033 --> 00:25:27.481
there were many times
I was not successful.

00:25:27.481 --> 00:25:28.314
- [Interviewer] What kind
of images are you looking

00:25:28.314 --> 00:25:30.490
for when you take photographs?

00:25:30.490 --> 00:25:31.723
- What kind of images?

00:25:32.950 --> 00:25:36.850
Something that'll stop
someone dead in their tracks

00:25:36.850 --> 00:25:40.690
and take a second look or
something that's curious,

00:25:40.690 --> 00:25:43.907
something out of the
ordinary, not on the menu.

00:25:43.907 --> 00:25:46.000
- [Reporter] "Not on the
Menu" featuring photographs

00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:47.230
taken by Corky Lee

00:25:47.230 --> 00:25:50.440
and Leland Wong of New York
and San Francisco Chinatowns

00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:52.120
was recently on exhibit at the

00:25:52.120 --> 00:25:53.710
Chinese Culture Center.

00:25:53.710 --> 00:25:55.330
And what kind of advice do they have

00:25:55.330 --> 00:25:56.773
for future photographers?

00:25:57.730 --> 00:25:59.860
- Good photo journalists, I
think have to have a feeling

00:25:59.860 --> 00:26:02.290
for people, situations.

00:26:02.290 --> 00:26:06.100
But don't get hooked on photography

00:26:06.100 --> 00:26:09.700
unless you're willing to
make tremendous sacrifices

00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:11.293
in your personal life.

00:26:12.310 --> 00:26:17.292
And also your financial circumstance.

00:26:18.222 --> 00:26:23.222
(car horns honking)
(traffic humming)

00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:27.110
- How do you balance career
and your personal life?

00:26:28.630 --> 00:26:30.573
I don't think you can really have it all.

00:26:32.770 --> 00:26:34.930
I probably should have paid more attention

00:26:34.930 --> 00:26:36.970
to my personal life.

00:26:36.970 --> 00:26:39.580
People have said to me,
my wedding with Margie

00:26:39.580 --> 00:26:41.200
was like the best kept secret

00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:42.750
in the Asian American Movement.

00:26:43.836 --> 00:26:48.430
(light music)
(camera clicks)

00:26:48.430 --> 00:26:49.840
We had gotten out of college

00:26:49.840 --> 00:26:52.720
and we'd been going
out for about six years

00:26:52.720 --> 00:26:54.970
and it was when she threatened to leave me

00:26:54.970 --> 00:26:56.770
that I decided I'd better marry her.

00:27:00.021 --> 00:27:05.021
I was 27 when I got married,
so she was 25 at the time.

00:27:05.133 --> 00:27:07.513
She was Toisanese like myself.

00:27:08.350 --> 00:27:10.723
Her parents had a laundry - two laundries!

00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:14.053
There was a lot of similarity.

00:27:15.190 --> 00:27:17.983
Margie, she was an ABC like me.

00:27:22.810 --> 00:27:25.963
Our wedding was in Chinatown.

00:27:26.800 --> 00:27:28.933
My father made all the arrangements.

00:27:30.610 --> 00:27:34.180
My dad never really said, "Hey,
you can have like one table

00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:38.020
or two tables, that would be
like 10 or 20 of your friends."

00:27:38.020 --> 00:27:38.860
Right?

00:27:38.860 --> 00:27:40.960
So I couldn't invite my friends

00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:43.430
and I sort of regretted that

00:27:44.830 --> 00:27:47.053
because when people heard:

00:27:48.797 --> 00:27:49.720
"Corky's married?

00:27:49.720 --> 00:27:52.137
Come on, are you kidding me?"

00:27:56.606 --> 00:27:59.456
(machinery running)

00:27:59.456 --> 00:28:00.850
This is where I work at Expedi Printing.

00:28:00.850 --> 00:28:03.430
I've been here for 27 years.

00:28:03.430 --> 00:28:05.650
I do estimating.

00:28:05.650 --> 00:28:06.880
I do customer service.

00:28:06.880 --> 00:28:10.570
I do the final billing and
then I'm the bill collector,

00:28:10.570 --> 00:28:12.280
when you come down to it.

00:28:12.280 --> 00:28:14.650
I think I'm fortunate at Expedi,

00:28:14.650 --> 00:28:16.777
I was flexible enough that I could go out

00:28:16.777 --> 00:28:18.400
and photograph things.

00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:20.957
The owner had asked me at one point,

00:28:20.957 --> 00:28:22.180
"Where do you find the time?"

00:28:22.180 --> 00:28:24.370
I said, "Well, I can do it before work.

00:28:24.370 --> 00:28:25.810
I can do it on my lunch hour.

00:28:25.810 --> 00:28:27.370
I can do it after work."

00:28:27.370 --> 00:28:28.900
So he said, "Well, okay, fine.

00:28:28.900 --> 00:28:30.370
As long as you get your work done,

00:28:30.370 --> 00:28:31.770
you can do the photography."

00:28:32.643 --> 00:28:35.643
(subway clattering)

00:28:40.570 --> 00:28:44.233
Marriage has a lot to do with finances.

00:28:45.430 --> 00:28:48.460
For a long time, I didn't
bring any income in

00:28:48.460 --> 00:28:50.593
from what I photographed.

00:28:53.110 --> 00:28:54.760
It probably irked my wife -

00:28:54.760 --> 00:28:56.050
that if I was really good at it,

00:28:56.050 --> 00:28:58.510
I could make a living out of it.

00:28:58.510 --> 00:29:01.510
She wanted more time of me.

00:29:01.510 --> 00:29:03.127
She said, "Well, why do you have to go

00:29:03.127 --> 00:29:04.627
and take the photographs?"

00:29:06.310 --> 00:29:08.407
I said, "Well, if I don't, who will?"

00:29:13.047 --> 00:29:15.714
(keys jingling)

00:29:21.263 --> 00:29:22.633
I come down here when I need

00:29:22.633 --> 00:29:26.054
to get matted photographs for an exhibit.

00:29:26.054 --> 00:29:30.413
This is where I keep all
my framed photographs.

00:29:31.990 --> 00:29:33.730
I think people started to care about

00:29:33.730 --> 00:29:36.130
the photographs I took at least 10 years

00:29:36.130 --> 00:29:38.113
after an event took place.

00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:42.820
I got a call from San Francisco in 1992.

00:29:42.820 --> 00:29:45.820
The newspaper at that time, I
think it was called East West,

00:29:45.820 --> 00:29:48.370
and the guy said, "Well,
we were doing a 10th year

00:29:48.370 --> 00:29:51.280
anniversary article about Vincent Chin

00:29:51.280 --> 00:29:55.150
and Helen Zia says that you
were in Detroit at that time,

00:29:55.150 --> 00:29:57.098
so do you have any photographs?"

00:29:57.098 --> 00:29:59.590
(gentle music)

00:29:59.590 --> 00:30:00.940
I went from New York to Detroit

00:30:00.940 --> 00:30:03.610
to film the Vincent Chin protests.

00:30:03.610 --> 00:30:06.340
There were Koreans, Japanese, Filipinos,

00:30:06.340 --> 00:30:10.180
and a few African
Americans at the rally too.

00:30:10.180 --> 00:30:13.090
People feel that this was
the beginning of a coalition

00:30:13.090 --> 00:30:15.283
of Asian Pacific American Movement.

00:30:18.190 --> 00:30:20.290
If it wasn't for Helen Zia, I don't think

00:30:20.290 --> 00:30:23.290
that the Vincent Chin
issue would've gained

00:30:23.290 --> 00:30:25.693
the type of attention that it deserved.

00:30:27.400 --> 00:30:30.160
Vincent Chin, a Chinese
American was killed in Detroit

00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:31.423
days before his wedding.

00:30:32.890 --> 00:30:36.190
Back then, in '82, I
don't even think the term

00:30:36.190 --> 00:30:39.193
hate crime was in common usage.

00:30:40.780 --> 00:30:44.290
The two guys beat him to
death with a baseball bat,

00:30:44.290 --> 00:30:47.113
and they were white
unemployed auto workers.

00:30:47.980 --> 00:30:49.060
During that time period,

00:30:49.060 --> 00:30:52.810
the auto industry in Detroit
was doing very poorly

00:30:52.810 --> 00:30:56.533
because Japanese car makers
were doing very well.

00:30:57.880 --> 00:31:01.420
Asians were seen as scapegoats.

00:31:01.420 --> 00:31:05.260
They thought someone who
looked Japanese was responsible

00:31:05.260 --> 00:31:07.693
for their loss of employment.

00:31:12.100 --> 00:31:13.870
What really angered the
community was the fact

00:31:13.870 --> 00:31:16.213
that the two guys never did any jail time.

00:31:17.530 --> 00:31:21.850
They were released for I think $3,000

00:31:21.850 --> 00:31:23.503
and some court fees.

00:31:26.470 --> 00:31:29.470
Lily Chin, Vincent Chin's
mother, was still grieving

00:31:29.470 --> 00:31:31.990
to probably the day that she died

00:31:31.990 --> 00:31:35.025
about the injustice done to her son.

00:31:35.025 --> 00:31:38.591
(gentle music continues)

00:31:38.591 --> 00:31:40.824
(camera clicks)

00:31:40.824 --> 00:31:43.324
(light music)

00:31:48.927 --> 00:31:52.120
- [Reporter] Whereas Corky Lee
has actively participated in

00:31:52.120 --> 00:31:53.890
the struggle to improve the quality

00:31:53.890 --> 00:31:56.710
of life in the Chinatowns of this nation,

00:31:56.710 --> 00:32:01.120
Mayor David Dinkins declared
May 5th, 1988, "Corky Lee Day."

00:32:01.120 --> 00:32:04.150
- I was moved because
I had also known that

00:32:04.150 --> 00:32:08.410
David Dinkins had been
responsive to the needs

00:32:08.410 --> 00:32:10.910
and the concerns about
Asian American communities.

00:32:12.130 --> 00:32:16.090
1988, I was doing an
exhibit near City Hall

00:32:16.090 --> 00:32:20.800
and David Dinkins presented
me with a certificate.

00:32:20.800 --> 00:32:22.720
I was flabbergasted.

00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:26.560
I said, Corky Lee Day is like
Muhammad Ali getting the key

00:32:26.560 --> 00:32:29.500
to the city after the Thrilla in Manila

00:32:29.500 --> 00:32:31.537
but on a smaller level!

00:32:33.566 --> 00:32:35.320
(door clatters)

00:32:35.320 --> 00:32:38.320
My friends have always
been clamoring for me

00:32:38.320 --> 00:32:39.736
to do my own book.

00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:44.860
I guess I'm too busy to actually sit down

00:32:44.860 --> 00:32:49.213
for even a day to look at what I've done.

00:32:49.213 --> 00:32:50.320
- Hey, Corky. What's up, man?

00:32:50.320 --> 00:32:52.320
- Hey, glad you could see me.

00:32:52.320 --> 00:32:55.120
So this represents the cover.

00:32:55.120 --> 00:32:57.100
Chee has you down as guest editor.

00:32:57.100 --> 00:33:00.220
My original title is "Not on The Menu:

00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:02.320
More or less Chinese America"

00:33:02.320 --> 00:33:04.480
A lot of times when people
go into a restaurant

00:33:04.480 --> 00:33:07.660
and they order items
that are not on the menu,

00:33:07.660 --> 00:33:09.430
those are like the specials.

00:33:09.430 --> 00:33:12.880
So it's a metaphor for the best items

00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:15.881
that the restaurant has
are not on the menu.

00:33:15.881 --> 00:33:18.548
- Okay, so you have, "Not on The Menu."

00:33:19.972 --> 00:33:21.767
What was your original title?

00:33:21.767 --> 00:33:23.710
- [Corky] "More or Less."

00:33:23.710 --> 00:33:25.060
'Cause if you translate more or less

00:33:25.060 --> 00:33:26.080
it's (speaking Chinese)

00:33:26.080 --> 00:33:28.093
That's a very colloquial Chinese phrase.

00:33:29.800 --> 00:33:33.490
It's Chinese, but yet at the
same time it's very American.

00:33:33.490 --> 00:33:35.620
It's like one foot in both cultures.

00:33:35.620 --> 00:33:37.907
This is a labor protest.

00:33:37.907 --> 00:33:40.000
"Black, brown, yellow, white,

00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:42.550
all the working people must unite."

00:33:42.550 --> 00:33:45.610
And this is for bilingual
education - early 70s.

00:33:45.610 --> 00:33:47.800
- [Editor] Very nice.
- [Corky] Okay.

00:33:47.800 --> 00:33:49.293
- Looking at your pictures,

00:33:49.293 --> 00:33:52.783
I think the story behind
it is also very intriguing.

00:33:53.762 --> 00:33:54.595
- Very important, too.

00:33:54.595 --> 00:33:57.490
The photographs themselves
are overwhelming,

00:33:57.490 --> 00:34:02.490
so I need to cut down on the images.

00:34:02.650 --> 00:34:03.760
I'm gonna self-publish it

00:34:03.760 --> 00:34:05.320
because I'm just too tired of waiting

00:34:05.320 --> 00:34:07.270
to hear from publishers.

00:34:07.270 --> 00:34:10.570
I figured why spend all
the time and effort to look

00:34:10.570 --> 00:34:13.870
for a publisher and then convince them?

00:34:13.870 --> 00:34:15.103
I've convinced myself.

00:34:16.510 --> 00:34:19.420
It's part of leaving a legacy,

00:34:19.420 --> 00:34:22.333
a visual record of what I've done.

00:34:25.008 --> 00:34:27.591
(gentle music)

00:34:28.600 --> 00:34:31.330
I noticed that a lot of
people have traveled outside

00:34:31.330 --> 00:34:33.460
of this country to take photographs.

00:34:33.460 --> 00:34:35.140
You don't have to go outside the country.

00:34:35.140 --> 00:34:38.410
You could stay in this
country, save the money,

00:34:38.410 --> 00:34:40.933
photograph your Asian community.

00:34:41.860 --> 00:34:44.200
But I understand there are
like four photographers here?

00:34:44.200 --> 00:34:46.397
Four of the eight? Come on up.

00:34:46.397 --> 00:34:47.230
(hands clapping)

00:34:47.230 --> 00:34:49.440
I wanna give you a public platform.

00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:50.914
Tell them what you like

00:34:50.914 --> 00:34:52.600
or what you don't like
about their photographs.

00:34:52.600 --> 00:34:55.060
That goes a long way to convince them

00:34:55.060 --> 00:34:57.257
to continue what they're doing.

00:34:57.257 --> 00:34:58.090
Thank you.

00:34:58.090 --> 00:35:00.085
(crowd clapping)
- [Photographer] Thank you!

00:35:01.660 --> 00:35:05.290
- I never had role models
when I started in photography.

00:35:05.290 --> 00:35:10.120
I mean, if a white editor from
AP would tell me something,

00:35:10.120 --> 00:35:13.630
I'd listen, but he didn't
really take me aside

00:35:13.630 --> 00:35:16.125
and say, "Listen, can I
buy you a cup of coffee?"

00:35:16.125 --> 00:35:17.680
- Right, right, right.
- Right?

00:35:17.680 --> 00:35:21.490
What I used to do, was
that I would fold my arms.

00:35:21.490 --> 00:35:22.960
Okay, fold my arms. Right?

00:35:22.960 --> 00:35:24.340
Then you get it up.
- [Photographer] Yeah.

00:35:24.340 --> 00:35:26.350
- All right, so basically,

00:35:26.350 --> 00:35:27.940
but you have to learn how to do this.

00:35:27.940 --> 00:35:28.773
- [Photographer] Sure.

00:35:28.773 --> 00:35:29.890
- When you get to a certain age, you want

00:35:29.890 --> 00:35:31.990
to pass on some wisdom.

00:35:31.990 --> 00:35:35.500
In my case, it's passing
on photographs of a time

00:35:35.500 --> 00:35:38.323
and place that I got to witness firsthand.

00:35:39.883 --> 00:35:41.663
- I was wondering if you have a website?

00:35:41.663 --> 00:35:44.500
- A lot of young photographers
reach out to me on,

00:35:44.500 --> 00:35:45.970
basically on Facebook.

00:35:45.970 --> 00:35:48.040
Social media has been a way

00:35:48.040 --> 00:35:50.590
to communicate almost instantaneously

00:35:50.590 --> 00:35:52.303
with people all over the world.

00:35:53.590 --> 00:35:57.433
I'm probably on on pretty
much on a daily basis.

00:35:59.380 --> 00:36:00.970
Previously, I really didn't have a way

00:36:00.970 --> 00:36:04.210
to make my own comments
other than the simple caption

00:36:04.210 --> 00:36:06.340
of what the photograph was.

00:36:06.340 --> 00:36:09.430
Now I can write some material about

00:36:09.430 --> 00:36:11.473
what I photograph and what I feel.

00:36:16.120 --> 00:36:17.380
When they have machines out here,

00:36:17.380 --> 00:36:18.460
they're probably being sold

00:36:18.460 --> 00:36:20.887
and there's probably a company
that is going out of business

00:36:20.887 --> 00:36:23.050
and it is just really sad.

00:36:23.050 --> 00:36:27.215
Now, this building probably
had a garment factory here.

00:36:27.215 --> 00:36:32.215
Most Chinatown families, you
made sure that one person

00:36:32.272 --> 00:36:34.722
worked in a garment shop so they could get

00:36:34.722 --> 00:36:36.285
union benefits.

00:36:38.719 --> 00:36:40.300
(camera clicking)

00:36:40.300 --> 00:36:42.370
Since I've been unemployed,

00:36:42.370 --> 00:36:44.320
I find myself photographing a lot more.

00:36:46.720 --> 00:36:50.590
I got laid off in 2010.

00:36:50.590 --> 00:36:52.393
The whole company shut down.

00:36:54.640 --> 00:36:56.800
I'm trying to hold out a year

00:36:56.800 --> 00:36:58.690
and a half where I'll be able

00:36:58.690 --> 00:37:01.663
to collect all my social
security benefits.

00:37:02.770 --> 00:37:05.050
Well, like most people
that are unemployed,

00:37:05.050 --> 00:37:06.340
how are you gonna pay for your next bill?

00:37:06.340 --> 00:37:08.590
How are you gonna do this and so forth.

00:37:08.590 --> 00:37:11.140
I guess it just takes
some time getting used to

00:37:11.140 --> 00:37:13.933
a new environment or a new situation.

00:37:15.695 --> 00:37:16.750
(light music)

00:37:16.750 --> 00:37:21.010
There must be a reason
for why things happen,

00:37:21.010 --> 00:37:23.440
and the more time you
try to figure it out,

00:37:23.440 --> 00:37:27.190
the less time you have
addressing the problem at hand.

00:37:27.190 --> 00:37:30.220
So you put it to the side.

00:37:30.220 --> 00:37:31.053
Let it be.

00:37:33.012 --> 00:37:35.512
(light music)

00:37:36.790 --> 00:37:39.850
There are ups and downs
in everybody's life,

00:37:39.850 --> 00:37:44.383
but 2001, I lost my wife.

00:37:47.439 --> 00:37:49.813
(somber music)

00:37:49.813 --> 00:37:52.313
(Corky sighs)

00:37:57.580 --> 00:37:58.530
I think about it often.

00:38:00.147 --> 00:38:03.564
(somber music continues)

00:38:09.430 --> 00:38:13.063
She had a really short
bout with breast cancer,

00:38:15.370 --> 00:38:17.230
and then once she was diagnosed with that,

00:38:17.230 --> 00:38:20.803
she was very resistant to modern medicine.

00:38:22.360 --> 00:38:25.093
She actually passed away
in about six months.

00:38:26.260 --> 00:38:28.263
April, 2001.

00:38:29.609 --> 00:38:31.934
She was like 52.

00:38:38.579 --> 00:38:42.190
I did all my grieving in the darkroom.

00:38:42.190 --> 00:38:45.040
As long as I'm doing something,
I'm not gonna feel the grief

00:38:45.040 --> 00:38:48.013
or the grief will be minimized.

00:38:53.170 --> 00:38:56.740
I think my wife is up there somewhere,

00:38:56.740 --> 00:38:59.653
wants me to keep occupied
so that I don't miss her.

00:39:02.410 --> 00:39:06.490
The year Margie passed away, 2001,

00:39:06.490 --> 00:39:10.240
while I was grieving her
loss, September 11th happened

00:39:10.240 --> 00:39:13.123
and that shifted my focus.

00:39:17.830 --> 00:39:20.080
After 9/11, there's a whole new paradigm

00:39:20.080 --> 00:39:22.119
of things that have taken place.

00:39:23.170 --> 00:39:27.040
Filipinos being racially profiled

00:39:27.040 --> 00:39:29.653
because part of the population is Muslim.

00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:34.123
The South Asian community
has become much more active.

00:39:36.399 --> 00:39:38.380
To this very day, a lot of South Asians,

00:39:38.380 --> 00:39:42.340
in particular Sikhs who
are perceived to be Taliban

00:39:42.340 --> 00:39:46.303
or Al-Qaeda, display the
American flag much more often.

00:39:48.160 --> 00:39:51.940
You know, it's patriotic,
but it is also protection

00:39:51.940 --> 00:39:53.440
because right after 9/11

00:39:53.440 --> 00:39:55.450
there was an uptick in hate crimes towards

00:39:55.450 --> 00:39:57.913
that South Asian demographic.

00:39:59.620 --> 00:40:03.190
What is searing in my mind is the images

00:40:03.190 --> 00:40:06.700
that I took from the rooftop
of Battery Park City,

00:40:06.700 --> 00:40:09.100
looking down into the World Trade Center,

00:40:09.100 --> 00:40:11.950
which was basically a big hole
in the ground at the time.

00:40:16.120 --> 00:40:19.510
You always think of the first
responders in law enforcement

00:40:19.510 --> 00:40:20.773
as being white.

00:40:22.120 --> 00:40:25.750
That's why I photographed
the firefighter Benny Hom

00:40:25.750 --> 00:40:30.433
sitting on the fender of his
firetruck in Chinatown in 2002.

00:40:32.080 --> 00:40:34.480
It's important for a
much younger generation

00:40:34.480 --> 00:40:36.583
to see people that look like them.

00:40:37.480 --> 00:40:41.005
There are Asians in the same uniforms

00:40:41.005 --> 00:40:43.623
as much as white Americans.

00:40:44.904 --> 00:40:46.542
- [Solider] Left, left, right, left.

00:40:46.542 --> 00:40:49.042
Left, left, left, right, left.

00:40:50.430 --> 00:40:51.847
Color guard halt.

00:40:52.984 --> 00:40:54.367
One, two.

00:40:54.367 --> 00:40:55.200
- Corky you're here!

00:40:55.200 --> 00:40:57.430
- [Corky] Hey, how you doing?
- All right, guy.

00:40:57.430 --> 00:41:00.370
- I wanted to get you and
Phil with the American flag.

00:41:00.370 --> 00:41:02.530
- Every year, Corky's sending me photos

00:41:02.530 --> 00:41:04.690
of Chinese American veterans,

00:41:04.690 --> 00:41:07.000
the American Legion Post in Chinatown.

00:41:07.000 --> 00:41:09.730
He'd send the photos with
these handwritten Post-Its

00:41:09.730 --> 00:41:13.630
with all this information about
these World War II veterans,

00:41:13.630 --> 00:41:15.282
and they were great stories.

00:41:15.282 --> 00:41:18.013
- [Soldier] Right face.

00:41:18.013 --> 00:41:20.813
(indistinct shouting)

00:41:20.813 --> 00:41:23.320
- [Corky] I was approached
by an individual

00:41:23.320 --> 00:41:26.920
who wrote the legislation for
the Congressional Gold Medal

00:41:26.920 --> 00:41:29.440
for Chinese American veterans who served

00:41:29.440 --> 00:41:30.520
during the second World War.

00:41:31.403 --> 00:41:32.899
- [Soldier] Color guard, halt.

00:41:34.030 --> 00:41:39.010
- I was able to gather 130 individuals

00:41:39.010 --> 00:41:40.630
to come to the American Legion,

00:41:40.630 --> 00:41:44.800
and I asked them to bring
photographs of their grandfather,

00:41:44.800 --> 00:41:48.010
their father, uncle, cousin, whatever,

00:41:48.010 --> 00:41:49.600
that was a World War II veteran.

00:41:49.600 --> 00:41:51.223
And I took a group photograph.

00:41:52.570 --> 00:41:56.860
I went to Washington DC on my own dime,

00:41:56.860 --> 00:42:00.520
walked the halls of
Congress, spoke to aides,

00:42:00.520 --> 00:42:04.900
and my photograph was given
to members of Congress.

00:42:04.900 --> 00:42:09.130
It, I think, moved a lot of
congressmen at the last minute

00:42:09.130 --> 00:42:12.700
to vote for passage of the law.

00:42:12.700 --> 00:42:15.400
It made me feel like that I was not only

00:42:15.400 --> 00:42:18.250
serving the American Legion,
but I was serving my country.

00:42:18.250 --> 00:42:22.720
And it was an extension of my
civilian alternative service,

00:42:22.720 --> 00:42:26.166
going back to the 1970s.

00:42:26.166 --> 00:42:28.330
(traffic humming)

00:42:28.330 --> 00:42:30.220
- Good evening, everyone.

00:42:30.220 --> 00:42:34.390
We're about to start
our 9/11 commemorative

00:42:34.390 --> 00:42:36.700
candlelight ceremony.

00:42:36.700 --> 00:42:40.390
9/11 had a particularly hard

00:42:40.390 --> 00:42:42.700
and devastating impact upon our community,

00:42:42.700 --> 00:42:47.033
being just in the shadow
of the Twin Towers.

00:42:47.033 --> 00:42:49.990
- I was doing a lot of work post 9/11

00:42:49.990 --> 00:42:52.933
related to revitalizing Chinatown,

00:42:54.310 --> 00:42:58.780
and this was through a campaign
called Explore Chinatown,

00:42:58.780 --> 00:43:01.093
and I would see Corky everywhere.

00:43:02.980 --> 00:43:05.890
And I told him I had an
interest in photography,

00:43:05.890 --> 00:43:09.340
and so every weekend he
would send some event

00:43:09.340 --> 00:43:12.427
that's happening and
"Would you like to go?"

00:43:14.920 --> 00:43:17.173
That's kind of how we started.

00:43:18.896 --> 00:43:20.080
(gentle music)

00:43:20.080 --> 00:43:22.513
- Karen had a liking for photography.

00:43:24.310 --> 00:43:26.323
At some point, she actually Googled me.

00:43:27.400 --> 00:43:31.843
I guess she was impressed by
what I do and what I represent.

00:43:36.820 --> 00:43:38.440
A lot of times she accompanies me

00:43:38.440 --> 00:43:42.790
and I guess being somewhat older,

00:43:42.790 --> 00:43:45.070
I think I've probably
influenced her in terms of

00:43:45.070 --> 00:43:46.813
what she likes to photograph.

00:43:48.580 --> 00:43:52.333
And she's become my second soulmate,

00:43:54.430 --> 00:43:58.003
and I think it's probably
made me a better person.

00:43:59.440 --> 00:44:03.373
She's given me a reason to
stop and smell the roses.

00:44:04.630 --> 00:44:06.070
Alright, before I would just look

00:44:06.070 --> 00:44:09.335
and maybe photograph
them and then move on.

00:44:09.335 --> 00:44:10.877
(Karen laughing)

00:44:12.730 --> 00:44:14.800
- [Reporter] The Queen's
Museum of Art is presenting

00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:18.070
an exhibit entitled "Asia
Pacifically New York:

00:44:18.070 --> 00:44:19.807
The Photography of Corky Lee."

00:44:23.962 --> 00:44:25.482
- I really appreciate your work.

00:44:25.482 --> 00:44:26.500
- Thank you.

00:44:26.500 --> 00:44:27.730
I would say in my later years,

00:44:27.730 --> 00:44:30.700
I think I probably have
a little more success.

00:44:30.700 --> 00:44:35.700
A lot of awards and accolades
sort of come in after 2001.

00:44:36.250 --> 00:44:39.493
There's been much more
exposure to what I've done.

00:44:40.600 --> 00:44:45.043
Within the next six weeks,
I am in four exhibits.

00:44:47.980 --> 00:44:50.500
I got an award for social justice

00:44:50.500 --> 00:44:52.930
from the Asian American
Journalists Association.

00:44:52.930 --> 00:44:56.410
I also got an award from
Organization of Chinese Americans,

00:44:56.410 --> 00:44:59.714
or better known as OCA.

00:44:59.714 --> 00:45:01.330
- [Announcer] Mr. Corky Lee.

00:45:01.330 --> 00:45:04.117
- City Hall, I got a proclamation
that I didn't expect.

00:45:04.117 --> 00:45:06.370
I never know I was gonna get an award.

00:45:06.370 --> 00:45:07.603
That was a surprise.

00:45:08.470 --> 00:45:10.903
The awards validate what I'm doing,

00:45:11.770 --> 00:45:15.313
and I guess it's some kind
of encouragement to continue.

00:45:17.672 --> 00:45:20.680
- In my "100 New York Photographers" book,

00:45:20.680 --> 00:45:22.540
I have Amy Arbus,

00:45:22.540 --> 00:45:26.950
I have Hugh Bell, Harry
Benson, Bruce Davidson,

00:45:26.950 --> 00:45:29.680
Lee Friedlander, Mary Ellen Mark,

00:45:29.680 --> 00:45:32.590
and of course Corky
belongs right with them.

00:45:32.590 --> 00:45:36.010
What resonated me with me
mostly about Corky was he said

00:45:36.010 --> 00:45:40.390
that his camera was like a
weapon that he used to shoot down

00:45:40.390 --> 00:45:42.130
the problems that he encountered.

00:45:42.130 --> 00:45:45.760
I think these three images
show an individual can make

00:45:45.760 --> 00:45:49.210
a difference, and that's the
important thing about Corky.

00:45:49.210 --> 00:45:52.330
The more you get into his head
and his eye and his camera,

00:45:52.330 --> 00:45:54.869
the more you begin to
think the way he thought.

00:45:54.869 --> 00:45:57.452
(light music)

00:46:01.120 --> 00:46:03.703
- Behind me is what is
called The Chinese Arch.

00:46:05.110 --> 00:46:08.893
This was where one of the
last Chinese labor camps was,

00:46:09.990 --> 00:46:12.430
and this is only four and a half miles

00:46:12.430 --> 00:46:14.320
from where the two locomotives met

00:46:14.320 --> 00:46:16.423
and had that historic photograph taken.

00:46:19.330 --> 00:46:23.740
When that famous photograph
was taken in 1869,

00:46:23.740 --> 00:46:26.200
that's where the Chinese were.

00:46:26.200 --> 00:46:29.803
They were not invited
to the closing party.

00:46:33.010 --> 00:46:36.524
I decided that I should
do something about it.

00:46:36.524 --> 00:46:39.024
(light music)

00:46:42.198 --> 00:46:45.281
(train bell dinging)

00:46:54.035 --> 00:46:56.875
(dinging continues)

00:46:56.875 --> 00:46:59.958
(train horn blowing)

00:47:01.690 --> 00:47:03.771
- [Announcer] Part of
the re-enactment cast

00:47:03.771 --> 00:47:05.146
over by the train!

00:47:05.146 --> 00:47:07.195
- Re-enactment!

00:47:07.195 --> 00:47:09.370
- The re-enactment cast.

00:47:09.370 --> 00:47:11.380
- This is the 145th anniversary

00:47:11.380 --> 00:47:13.110
since the completion of the railroad.

00:47:13.968 --> 00:47:17.051
- Chinese group up front!

00:47:18.070 --> 00:47:19.790
[Corky] We're Chinese Americans!

00:47:19.790 --> 00:47:21.772
We're Asian Pacific Americans!

00:47:21.772 --> 00:47:23.490
So lemme hear it!

00:47:23.490 --> 00:47:26.854
(people cheering)

00:47:26.854 --> 00:47:30.721
We came today to reclaim American history!

00:47:33.220 --> 00:47:36.190
There's a TV series about cold cases,

00:47:36.190 --> 00:47:37.627
they always go back in the past

00:47:37.627 --> 00:47:40.180
and they try to correct the wrongs.

00:47:40.180 --> 00:47:45.180
So, in this sense, the omission
of Chinese 145 years ago

00:47:45.880 --> 00:47:49.070
is resolved through photography

00:47:50.680 --> 00:47:54.158
and it's an act of photographic justice.

00:47:54.158 --> 00:47:56.475
(light music)

00:47:56.475 --> 00:48:01.475
♪ We are the cousins of
the freedom fighter ♪

00:48:01.521 --> 00:48:06.521
♪ Brothers and sisters
all aound the world. ♪

00:48:07.272 --> 00:48:12.272
♪ We are a part of the
third world people ♪

00:48:12.613 --> 00:48:17.613
♪ Who will leave their stamp on America ♪

00:48:17.689 --> 00:48:22.681
♪ America ♪

00:48:23.710 --> 00:48:26.170
- I think Asian Americans
have come a long way,

00:48:26.170 --> 00:48:29.080
but there's still a long way to go.

00:48:29.080 --> 00:48:32.260
In the pursuit of photographic justice,

00:48:32.260 --> 00:48:35.680
you have to keep going on
because there's so much

00:48:35.680 --> 00:48:36.780
that needs to be done.

00:48:39.850 --> 00:48:42.190
- I would like to begin

00:48:42.190 --> 00:48:44.200
by announcing some important developments

00:48:44.200 --> 00:48:47.597
in our war against the Chinese virus.

00:48:47.597 --> 00:48:48.790
(ominous music)

00:48:48.790 --> 00:48:49.623
Kung flu!

00:48:50.950 --> 00:48:52.390
It comes from China.

00:48:52.390 --> 00:48:55.720
The Chinese virus.
(people cheering)

00:48:55.720 --> 00:48:58.690
- Asians around the world
have reported discrimination

00:48:58.690 --> 00:49:00.370
linked to coronavirus.

00:49:00.370 --> 00:49:01.990
The FBI recently issued a warning

00:49:01.990 --> 00:49:04.240
about a potential spike in hate crimes.

00:49:04.240 --> 00:49:06.068
- [Reporter] I have never seen
the Asian American community

00:49:06.068 --> 00:49:08.256
this scared.
- Get out of our country!

00:49:08.256 --> 00:49:09.520
Get out!

00:49:09.520 --> 00:49:11.170
- [Reporter] There's also
been apparent attacks

00:49:11.170 --> 00:49:12.670
in New York City.

00:49:12.670 --> 00:49:16.390
- I have friends who are
legitimately afraid to go outside

00:49:16.390 --> 00:49:18.493
because they fear for their safety.

00:49:20.590 --> 00:49:23.110
- Are we going to let
people like our president

00:49:23.110 --> 00:49:26.980
use dangerous language such
as the "Chinese virus,"

00:49:26.980 --> 00:49:30.158
knowing well that it
hurts Asian Americans?

00:49:30.158 --> 00:49:31.480
- [Protestors] Hell no!

00:49:31.480 --> 00:49:34.060
- [Speaker] Are we going to
let people tell us to go back

00:49:34.060 --> 00:49:36.490
to our country when this is our country?

00:49:36.490 --> 00:49:37.323
- [Protestors] Hell no!

00:49:38.500 --> 00:49:40.250
- [Speaker] Asians are not a virus!

00:49:41.784 --> 00:49:45.184
- [Protestors] Stop the
violence! Stop the hate!

00:49:45.184 --> 00:49:46.990
- [Protestors] Asians are not a virus!

00:49:46.990 --> 00:49:49.753
- In 2020, there's a worldwide pandemic.

00:49:51.760 --> 00:49:54.373
I think the entire country is in mourning,

00:49:55.690 --> 00:49:57.790
but anyone who looks Asian,

00:49:57.790 --> 00:50:00.463
we're perceived as being scapegoats.

00:50:02.230 --> 00:50:04.300
The restaurants in Chinatown close early

00:50:04.300 --> 00:50:06.340
because the later that they leave work,

00:50:06.340 --> 00:50:08.260
there's a higher possibility

00:50:08.260 --> 00:50:10.483
of them being a victim of a hate crime.

00:50:11.380 --> 00:50:15.433
So, if you're Asian, you're
afflicted with two viruses.

00:50:16.300 --> 00:50:17.740
One is COVID-19,

00:50:17.740 --> 00:50:20.353
and the other one is actually hate.

00:50:22.090 --> 00:50:24.010
The community's in a survival mode

00:50:24.010 --> 00:50:26.800
and not enough attention
is being paid either

00:50:26.800 --> 00:50:30.253
by mainstream media or elected officials.

00:50:36.070 --> 00:50:38.380
- The last time I saw Corky was a few days

00:50:38.380 --> 00:50:40.690
before New Year's, there
was a press conference

00:50:40.690 --> 00:50:42.100
by the Guardian Angels.

00:50:42.100 --> 00:50:44.320
They wanted to go into the subways

00:50:44.320 --> 00:50:47.650
to warn people about an
attack on a Chinese girl.

00:50:47.650 --> 00:50:50.565
And Corky went with them into the subways.

00:50:50.565 --> 00:50:53.590
(soft music)

00:50:53.590 --> 00:50:56.750
- He never slowed down.
He's gotta be out there

00:50:57.790 --> 00:51:00.340
because there's things that's happening

00:51:00.340 --> 00:51:03.193
and he wants to be present for it.

00:51:07.312 --> 00:51:10.562
(soft music continues)

00:51:12.760 --> 00:51:16.300
Wednesday, he went to
a Guardian Angel event.

00:51:16.300 --> 00:51:18.190
He said, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

00:51:18.190 --> 00:51:20.107
He says, "I'm wearing a face mask."

00:51:21.220 --> 00:51:23.950
Thursday, he said he wasn't feeling well.

00:51:23.950 --> 00:51:27.433
He had cold symptoms and body aches.

00:51:28.870 --> 00:51:30.913
He got tested January 7th.

00:51:32.110 --> 00:51:33.880
His breathing was difficult

00:51:33.880 --> 00:51:37.000
and they checked his oxygen level

00:51:37.000 --> 00:51:41.833
and they suggested that he
needed to go to the hospital.

00:51:43.300 --> 00:51:44.263
He had COVID.

00:51:47.410 --> 00:51:52.410
The morning of January
27th, he passed away.

00:51:52.413 --> 00:51:53.812
(Karen crying)

00:51:53.812 --> 00:51:56.395
(somber music)

00:52:05.479 --> 00:52:10.479
(birds chirping)
(somber music continues)

00:52:18.807 --> 00:52:22.224
(somber music continues)

00:52:31.037 --> 00:52:34.454
(somber music continues)

00:52:37.595 --> 00:52:39.066
- [Bystander] Thank you Corky!

00:52:39.066 --> 00:52:40.813
- [Bystander #2] We love you Corky!

00:52:40.813 --> 00:52:41.646
- [Bystander #3] Thank you, Corky.

00:52:41.646 --> 00:52:44.594
We'll always remember you.

00:52:44.594 --> 00:52:47.677
We will continue fighting for
justice, photographic justice.

00:52:51.060 --> 00:52:54.477
(somber music continues)

00:53:02.200 --> 00:53:05.617
(somber music continues)

00:53:09.250 --> 00:53:12.670
- We want to remember
one of the 431,000 people

00:53:12.670 --> 00:53:15.100
who have died of COVID
in the US: Corky Lee.

00:53:15.100 --> 00:53:17.050
Corky Lee was a legendary
photographer known

00:53:17.050 --> 00:53:19.540
for documenting the
life of Asian Americans.

00:53:19.540 --> 00:53:20.890
He was born and raised-
- [Reporter] His mission in life

00:53:20.890 --> 00:53:24.400
to chronicle the often forgotten
members of his community.

00:53:24.400 --> 00:53:27.434
For five decades, Corky Lee
put a spotlight on every-

00:53:27.434 --> 00:53:28.963
- [Reporter #2] Bringing Asian
Americans to the forefront

00:53:28.963 --> 00:53:31.480
of history through his work.

00:53:31.480 --> 00:53:33.670
- [Reporter #3] He arguably
left behind the single largest

00:53:33.670 --> 00:53:36.610
repository of photographic
history of Asian Americans.

00:53:36.610 --> 00:53:38.290
- He was an icon in the community,

00:53:38.290 --> 00:53:40.330
using his camera to set things right.

00:53:40.330 --> 00:53:41.530
- [Reporter] It was his life purpose

00:53:41.530 --> 00:53:44.260
to tell the stories of
communities overlooked

00:53:44.260 --> 00:53:45.970
by mainstream media.

00:53:45.970 --> 00:53:47.140
- Through his photographs

00:53:47.140 --> 00:53:49.480
and the memories of the
countless people who knew

00:53:49.480 --> 00:53:51.910
and loved him, he'll
keep making a difference

00:53:51.910 --> 00:53:53.353
for generations to come.

00:53:54.258 --> 00:53:56.841
(somber music)

00:54:01.383 --> 00:54:02.470
- [Corky] The Asian American movement,

00:54:02.470 --> 00:54:03.913
I believe, is still alive.

00:54:05.590 --> 00:54:08.773
Whenever there's a crisis, more
people step up to the plate.

00:54:10.180 --> 00:54:12.040
You know, there'll be setbacks,

00:54:12.040 --> 00:54:14.770
there'll be times that
you'll feel depressed

00:54:14.770 --> 00:54:16.060
about what's going on.

00:54:16.060 --> 00:54:19.573
But you have to believe
that things will get better.

00:54:21.280 --> 00:54:23.280
If you're a photographer, keep shooting.

00:54:26.249 --> 00:54:29.666
(somber music continues)

00:54:38.310 --> 00:54:41.727
(somber music continues)

00:54:49.889 --> 00:54:53.306
(somber music continues)

00:55:01.327 --> 00:55:04.744
(somber music continues)