Chol Soo Lee Day of Remembrance

Saturday, March 21 at Advancing Justice - LA



Chol Soo Lee, whose 1973 wrongful murder conviction sparked an Asian American movement, died in December at 62. If you're in Los Angeles, Asian Americans Advancing Justice invites you to a Day of Remembrance for Chol Soo Lee and the Free Chol Soo Lee Movement. It's happening Saturday, March 21 at 3:00pm in the Advancing Justice - LA Community Room. For further information, refer to the flyer above.

Rest in Peace, Chol Soo Lee

Korean American immigrant's struggle for justice sparked an early pan-Asian American movement.



Passing along some sad news... Chol Soo Lee, who became the center of an early pan-Asian American justice movement when he was wrongfully convicted of murder, passed away on Tuesday. He was 62.

Chol Soo Lee, Who Sparked Early Pan-Asian American Movement, Dies at 62

Lee, a Korean American immigrant, was tried and convicted for the 1973 killing of Yip Yee Tak, a San Francisco Chinatown gang leader, and sentenced to life in prison. Then in 1977, while incarcerated, he was sentenced to death for the fatal self-defense stabbing of another inmate during a prison yard altercation.

Chol Soo Lee, who maintained his innocence, attracted the attention of Korean American journalist K.W. Lee, a reporter for the Sacramento Union. Lee eventually wrote over a hundred investigative articles about Chol Soo Lee's plight, uncovering further detail about the case and calling the verdict into question.

Guest Post: The Ballad of Chol Soo Lee

I'm on vacation! Taking a much-needed break. But don't worry. While I'm away, I've enlisted some great guest bloggers to keep things going around here. Here's Oliver Wang on "The Ballad of Chol Soo Lee."

On a recent visit back to the Bay Area, I stopped by my favorite record store on the planet, the Groove Merchant, and waiting for me was this 7" called "The Ballad of Chol Soo Lee." The store's owner, "Cool" Chris Veltri knows I have a thing for Asian American records and this was practically an uber-example.

Here's "The Ballad of Chol Soo Lee." And here's a scan of the back cover, complete with lyrics and credits.