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A review by queer_bookwyrm
They Called Us Enemy by Steven Scott, George Takei, Justin Eisinger
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: racism/racial slurs
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Harmony Becker is a nonfiction graphic novel telling the story of George Takei's family and his experience with the Japanese-American internment camps.
This was such a great way to introduce people to the history of the Japanese-American internment camps during WWII. I see so much written about or TV shows or movies talking about WWII, but I almost never see things talking about this. I think people forget that America has a long history of locking innocent people up due to their race or beliefs. Takie is of the mind that if we don't remember and talk about these histories, we are doomed to repeat it.
And he is right. We did just that when America started kicking up immigrants at the US-Mexico border, putting children in cages, and banning people coming to this country from Muslim countries. Takei tells about the awful conditions his family and others were forced into, simply because they were of Japanese dissent. He also emphasizes the importance of democracy and participating in that democracy. Although the US has madeany considerable mistakes, the fact that we are able to speak out about them and work against them, makes democracy worth it.
I urge you to read this graphic novel to get a taste of what things were like for Japanese-Americans. I appreciate George Takei so much for writing this and creating a play about this as well. It's no shock, I'm most familiar with him for his role as Sulu in Star Trek: The Original Series. He's also a proud gay man, who fought for marriage equality. He is an example of someone using their platform to advocate for important causes, and never stay silent.
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Harmony Becker is a nonfiction graphic novel telling the story of George Takei's family and his experience with the Japanese-American internment camps.
This was such a great way to introduce people to the history of the Japanese-American internment camps during WWII. I see so much written about or TV shows or movies talking about WWII, but I almost never see things talking about this. I think people forget that America has a long history of locking innocent people up due to their race or beliefs. Takie is of the mind that if we don't remember and talk about these histories, we are doomed to repeat it.
And he is right. We did just that when America started kicking up immigrants at the US-Mexico border, putting children in cages, and banning people coming to this country from Muslim countries. Takei tells about the awful conditions his family and others were forced into, simply because they were of Japanese dissent. He also emphasizes the importance of democracy and participating in that democracy. Although the US has madeany considerable mistakes, the fact that we are able to speak out about them and work against them, makes democracy worth it.
I urge you to read this graphic novel to get a taste of what things were like for Japanese-Americans. I appreciate George Takei so much for writing this and creating a play about this as well. It's no shock, I'm most familiar with him for his role as Sulu in Star Trek: The Original Series. He's also a proud gay man, who fought for marriage equality. He is an example of someone using their platform to advocate for important causes, and never stay silent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism