Corky Lee Wife always supported his career and idealogy as he was a well-known Asian American photographer and activist.
Young Kwok Lee was an unofficial Asian American Photographer, Laureate, Chinese-American activist, community organizer, photographer, and Journalist. He described himself as an “ABC from NYC…with a camera in hand to fight injustices against APAs.”
Lee’s work has chronicled pivotal moments in Asian American political history. The New York Post published his photos of a Chinese American man being thrashed by personnel of the New York City Police Department in 1975. On the day the photograph was published, 20,000 people marched from Chinatown to City Hall in protest of Police abuse.
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At the time, the mayor of New York City, David Dinkins, declared May 5, 1988, as “Corky Lee Day,” acknowledging Lee’s efforts as a significant contribution to New York City communities.
Who Is Corky Lee Wife Margaret Dea? Meet His Wife
Corky Lee was a well-known Asian American photographer and activist who died in 2021 due to COVID-19. Throughout his life, he was married to Margaret Dea, who died in 2001.
Sadly, there isn’t much information on Margaret Dea or their relationship. Corky Lee is believed to be survived by their daughter, Cynthia Zhou.
Lee died on January 27, 2021, at Long Island Jewish Hospital in Forest Hills. He was 73 years old at the time of his death and had COVID-19 problems. He was probably sick from patrolling with neighborhood watch organizations, safeguarding Chinatown from anti-Asian violence.
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Lee’s self-proclaimed status of “undisputed unofficial Asian American Photographer Laureate” was never challenged. His images recorded Asian Americans’ daily life and significant important occasions in American history.
By capturing the lives of minority-American cultures and communities, Lee stated his camera was a sword to resist racial injustice and to remember and make visible individuals who would otherwise be invisible.
Who Are Corky Lee Family? Kids And Parents
Young Kwok Lee, meaning “rebuild a country,” was born in Queens, New York. His parents were the second and oldest son of Chinese immigrants from the rural village of Toisan. Lee Yin Chuck, his Father, had a hand-laundry Company, and Jung Shee Lee, his mother, was a seamstress.
While little is known about Corky Lee’s family, it is known that he had a daughter named Cynthia Zhou. It is unknown if he had any further children or siblings.
He began shooting photographs to fight for tenant rights in the Lower East Side after graduating from Queens College as an American history student in the early 1970s.
Corky Lee spent his life documenting the untold experiences of Asian Americans and other underrepresented populations, using his camera to shed attention on social and political injustices.
His unofficial Asian American Photographer Laureate legacy, as well as his ongoing Campaign for Asian American representation in culture and history, will inspire future generations.
Corky Lee Legacy Explored
Lee, a self-taught photographer, recorded the Asian population across the United States over half a century, documenting moments of injustice from the gloomy bowels of lower Manhattan to the golden spike at Promontory Summit, Utah.
Amid the post-1960s civil rights movement, the 1970s Chinese cultural revolution, and anti-Vietnam War rallies, Lee discovered his lifelong passion for photography.
Corky Lee documented the horrible living conditions and the group’s actions for local news organizations, and the conglomerate finally backed out, fearing harmful exposure, and sold the buildings.
A year later, Corky Lee was heavily involved in the logistical organizing of the first and largest Chinatown street health fair, organized by a majority of college student activists worried about residents’ lack of access to primary health care.
Meanwhile, his reputation as a photographer grew through word of mouth as he attended every Asian American event before his work caught the media’s attention.