Interviews

1. Father’s Influence

2. Response to 9/11

3. Allegiance Musical

4. George & Brad's Wedding

5. Asian Stereotypes

6. George's Mother & Brad

7. Civil Rights Involvement

8. Coming Out Publicly

George Takei

(b. 1937) Actor, Activist

Father’s Influence

As a child, I was kind of frustrated that our daddy was away so much from us. He was block manager in both camps that we were in. Arkansas, Rohwer, Arkansas, was the first camp we were taken to. And from there, after the "loyalty questionnaire" came down, we were transferred to Tule Lake in northern California.

But in both camps, my father was always involved in what I thought was other people's business. In Rohwer, when it rained, it turned into a swamp. People had to make that three times a day trek to the mess hall. Old people, elderly people, had difficulty making that trek. Their feet would sink into the muck, and pulling their feet out of the muck became extremely laborious. Mothers with children had tremendous challenges getting their flock to the mess hall. And so the building of a board walk became a necessity. And I remember my father organizing people to build that. He was always in meetings or projects for the community.

As I grew up, I came to realize. After camp, my parents were busy getting back on our feet. But never the less, he was volunteering for community projects, community organizations on weekends. So that inculcated in us, I think, a sense of volunteerism. Little Tokyo worked on volunteerism.

Arkansas block managers British Columbia Burnaby California Canada communities concentration camps Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre Rohwer concentration camp Tule Lake concentration camp United States volunteerism World War II camps

Date: February 3, 2015

Location: California, US

Interviewer: John Esaki, Janice Tanaka

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

George Hosato Takei was born in Los Angeles in 1937 to an Issei father, Takekuma Norman Takei, and Nisei mother, Fumiko Emily Nakamura. He was only five years old when his family was rounded up along with 120,000 other Japanese Americans and sent to concentration camps by the U.S. government following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.

He earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in theater at the University of California, Los Angeles and embarked on a career in theater, television, and film. In 1966 he was cast as U.S. Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu on the groundbreaking TV series Star Trek.

In addition to his acting career, Takei has been highly active in public and community service, including serving on the board of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and has been an active and generous member of the Japanese American National Museum Board of Trustees since its inception.

Since coming out as gay in 2005, Takei has become an effective advocate for LGBT rights, speaking widely about his own experiences, holding public figures accountable for homophobic comments, and serving as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign. Takei has enjoyed a renewed wave of popularity in recent years thanks to the infectious humor and warmth of his Facebook page, which has over eight million followers.

Updated May 2015