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Anyone who knew Corky Lee will tell you that he seemed to know everyone and be everywhere.
It was said that Corky Lee had the best Rolodex in town.
He made his life a ceaseless act of creative intervention in a history shaped by erasure.
At the time, Queens did not have the thriving Chinese community it does today.
(That wouldnt change until 1965, when the U.S. removed quotas on non-European immigrants.)
Corky comes up to me and says, Congrats on the MOCA job!
I have a question for you: What does the wordLockemean to you?
I knew he was testing me.
I said, Gary Locke?
And hes like, Yeah, I thought so, but no.
Locke has a bigger significance in Chinese American history: Locke, California.
Lee was referring to a town significant to the history of Chinese railroad workers.
Lee was a self-taught photographer.
Rallying fellow artists and activists he met, he helped found influential community groups and collectives, includingBasement Workshop.
In the early 1980s, Lee got a day job at Expedi Printing, a community-newspaper printer.
Although Lee seemed to be friends with everyone, he was unapologetic about his opinions.
But when Chinese elders offer criticism, its a sign of love and care.
One time, he came to one of Trinhs exhibitions with a cane after a recent hip injury.
When Trinh insisted he go home to rest, he insisted on staying to help.
Thats what I learned from him: to keep doing the work that you care about.
The transcontinental-railroad project was him trying to heal a big wound, says Tam.
Thats what will continue.
That gathering turned into a yearly commemorative event.
Pearl River president Joanne Kwong says that for every picture on the wall, he had a story.
He remembered dates, addresses, who was there, what the weather was.
Thats who he was …
He was Chinatown to me.
The writers are the founders ofCanal Street Research Association.
