Fifty years ago, legendary martial artist and actor Bruce Lee passed away unexpectedly. To commemorate the anniversary of his death, Cold Tea Collective’s Natasha Jung sat down with Shannon Lee, his daughter, to talk about the legacy that the Asian American icon left behind.
Her reflections on her father’s work and how his image continues to inspire touches upon themes of what it means to be a steward to someone else’s legacy while also trying to create your own impact. Lee embodies what it means to be a graceful steward, on one’s own terms.
Enter the Shannon: A Legacy of Her Own
From a very early age, Shannon Lee understood that she could not fight the public image of Bruce Lee. She saw it to be nearly impossible to undo the impact and impression that he’s made.
Instead, she used her own image of him to define the work that she did around his legacy.
“Excitement and enthusiasm is probably the best word for what you could just feel from him,” Lee recalls. “He loved what he was doing, and he was joyful in what he was doing. And that is the memory that I have of him and hold on to.”
Her memory of her father’s joyfulness helps her find pride and satisfaction in the impact she creates for herself, not just as Bruce Lee’s daughter. Stepping out of her father’s shadow, Lee has gone on to write her own book and create a non-profit foundation.
In fact, Lee was recognized as one of the first-ever recipients of the Global Connector Award by the inaugural EXNW Summit, promoting storytelling by creators of racial minority backgrounds. Her acceptance speech began with recounting that over the years she received many honors on her father’s behalf, but the Global Connector Award represents the first recognition for her own work in the nonprofit, television, and community-services space.
Lee notes that her work feeds her soul in a personal way, even though it is surrounded by her father’s…
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