George Takei is known worldwide as a beloved Star Trek alum and one of only three surviving cast members of the original series, along with William Shatner and Walter Koenig. He paved the way for many other Asian-American actors by taking on roles that fought stereotypes that usually reduced them to camp cooks or house servants with exaggerated accents.
Today, Takei, 88, continues to fight the good fight and speaks out against censorship, LGBTQA oppression, and the right for everyone to have access to reading material that right-wing and conservative groups want shut away forever. Takei will continue his quest for human rights in October as the honorary chairman of Banned Books Week, which is scheduled for Oct. 5-11. Fans of Takei won't be surprised by this accolade, as the actor has taken advantage of his fame to raise awareness in the past.
Takei spent his childhood in prison camps
While the plight of those in German concentration camps during WWII is well known, fewer people are aware that America had its own "holding camps" at the same time. Takei's childhood was a constant move from camp to camp, from California to Arkansas, and then back again, with his entire family. Takei often says his memories of that time are still powerful despite the passage of time. At the end of the war, Takei continued to struggle as his family lived in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, and he attended high school. He was able to rise out of that poverty to attend several California universities, where he studied architecture and then realized his passion for acting.
The Banned Books project
George Takei has long been outspoken about social issues, from the president's Muslim ban to the systematic oppression of gay individuals. Takei himself had to remain closeted for many years. Banned Books Week is one of many projects the actor has supported over the years, and he recalls having little to no access to books when his family lived at internment camps.
Regarding those memories, Takei said per NBC NEWS, “I remember all too well the lack of access to books and media that I needed growing up. First as a child in a barbed-wire prison camp, then as a gay young man in the closet, I felt confused and hungry for understanding about myself and the world around me."
Considering Takei's childhood and the absolute uncertainty for him and his family, it is little wonder that he continues to stand up and speak out against censorship. Banned Books Week will take place in bookstores across the country the second week of October.