George Takei—actor, advocate, he of the iconic baritone voice and famous characterization of Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek—will speak at the Library of Congress on Saturday, May 11 at 2pm in Coolidge Auditorium. We hope you’ll join us then; grab your free tickets here, but hurry: we are filling up fast! Adults, children and all other ages are welcome.
Takei has just published a new picture book “My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story,” illustrated by Michelle Lee. Delving into the details of the Takei family’s experience in three U.S.-run internment camps during WWII, “My Lost Freedom” is candid and unblinking—but also quite tender. It’s a deeply human book that reveals how Takei, his younger siblings and his parents attempted to create a semblance of normality for themselves while they were being treated as enemies by their own country.
Takei has a history of fighting for human rights causes. He has used his success as a platform to fight for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights and marriage equality. He now serves as chair emeritus and a member of the Japanese American National Museum’s Board of Trustees. Takei served on the board of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission under President Bill Clinton, and in 2004 he was conferred with the Gold Rays with Rosette of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan for his contribution to US-Japan relations.
In 2019, he published an award-winning young adult graphic memoir, “They Called Us Enemy,” about his family’s same experience. He is also a prominent LGBTQ advocate, having served as the spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign “Coming Out Project,” among many other efforts. It’s an honor for us to host Takei, especially during our May Family Day celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Takei will be in conversation with the Library’s Chief Communications Officer, Roswell Encina; you can ask Takei questions at this event and purchase signed copies of his new book. Join us!
Comments (7)
Will this be recorded so those of us outside of DC can see it later?
Hi Eileen, Yes, it will be–we’ll post a link to the video here once we’ve published it.
this is under special events, so you can reserve tickets here: https://event.etix.com/ticket/e/1038417/timedentry-ticket-reservations-washington-thomas-jefferson-building
This ticket is enough to get you into the George Takei event, but we recommend grabbing the timed entry tickets if you’d like to enjoy the Library outside of the event hours.
George Takei is a national treasure. His book is most important. Thank you for the video link as I cannot attend May 2nd. His messages are essential to the health of the United States.
It’s also Haitian Heritage month. Will any speial events or offerings celebrate that? I’d love to be connected to some children’s or young adult books about that heritage.
We have some great LibGuides about Haitian history and culture available here:
– Haitian History: Primary Sources
– Celebrating Black Joy: Haitian & Haitian American Stories
– Haitian Creole
Blog posts:
– Discussing Black History in the Caribbean: A Look at Ayiti
– Researching Haiti, Black Liberation Movements, and US History
– American Folklife Center blog posts on Haiti
Recorded poetry from Haitian authors:
– Haiti in The PALABRA Archive
Here are some authors who write for young people that we’ve featured at the Library, but of course this is not an exclusive list:
Ibi Zoboi
Edwidge Danticat