Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story

Lee’s photo of a bloody demonstrator made a Chinatown protest against police brutality front-page news in 1975. He recalls his determination to both document this unprecedented community gathering, and to demand that every news outlet pay attention. Activist Fay Chiang recalls this moment as being “the first time we showed city government the community could organize into a political force."

A tribute to 50 amazing years of Asian American Pacific Islander culture and activism through the lens of photographer Corky Lee. From Chinatown garment workers, Pakistani families, Thai dancers, Tibetan monks, Filipinos against war, feminists supporting the ERA, Koreans protesting hate crimes, and veterans remembering 9/11, Lee’s rare photographs show the diversity of the AAPI experience.

Corky Lee’s rare images of the fight for justice, equality, and identity in the Asian American Pacific Islander communities on the East Coast in the 1970s reveal the foundation for AAPI civil rights struggles to follow over the next five decades.

Using his camera as a “weapon against injustice,” Chinese American photographer Corky Lee’s art is his activism. His unforgettable images of Asian American life empowered generations. This film’s intimate portrait reveals the triumphs and tragedies of the man behind the lens.