Queens College to Host Book Launch and Panel Discussion on Corky Lee’s Asian America: Fifty years of photographic justice, in Posthumous Celebration of the Life and Work of the Alumnus
—Coeditor and visual artist Chee Wang Ng and Asian American Federation Board Member Chris Kwok to participate—
WHAT: Book launch and panel discussion on Corky Lee’s Asian America: 50 years of photographic justice, which was published in April. A Queens College alumnus, photojournalist, and activist, Lee was committed to documenting the contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, particularly in New York. He died in January 2021 from COVID-19. The book, Corky Lee’s Asian America, co-edited by Chee Wang Ng, a visual artist, and Mae Ngai, Lung Family Professor of Asian American Studies and professor of History at Columbia University, is described as “a collection of over 200 breathtaking photos celebrating the history and cultural impact of the Asian American social justice movement, from a beloved photographer who sought to change the world, one photograph at a time.” The event is free and open to the public. Read more about Corky Lee’s Asian America HERE.
This event is co-sponsored by the college’s department of Sociology and the dean of Social Science.
WHO: Queens College President Frank H. Wu will offer welcoming remarks. Panelists include Ng; Chris Kwok, board member, Asian American Federation Board; and Soniya Munshi, Queens College Sociology professor. Amy Hsin, chair, Queens College department of Sociology, will moderate.
WHEN: Monday, September 30, 12 to 2 pm
WHERE: Queens College | Campbell Dome at Powdermaker Hall | 65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, NY | Directions | Campus Map
Background: Corky Lee was born in 1947 to immigrant parents from China and grew up in Jamaica, New York, where his family operated a laundry business. He attended New York City public schools and Queens College, where he earned a BA in history. Lee spent two years as a Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) on the Lower East Side of New York. Through his work as a housing advocate, he became acquainted with the social and political inequities affecting the Chinese immigrant community and began to use photography to document and challenge the injustices impacting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In 2014, Lee staged a photo commemorating the completion of the 1868 transcontinental railroad at Promontory Point, Utah, with the descendants of the Chinese laborers who had built it. He advocated for the implementation of a Chinese language voting ballot which helped increase Chinese American electoral participation in New York City, eventually leading to increased Asian American representation at the local, state, and federal levels. He lobbied for Congressional Gold Medals to be awarded to more than 25,000 Chinese American World War Two veterans, among them his father, Lee Yin Chuck. Lee also documented the campaign for a day of remembrance in recognition of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War Two. He contracted COVID-19 while documenting the Guardian Angels’ campaign against the rising tide of anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more HERE.
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