In 1965, actor George Takei was cast in the role of Lt. Sulu in the Star Trek television series.  He has been associated with this role ever since.

In addition to his acting career, he is known as a proponent of LGBT rights and is active in state and local politics.  His Facebook page has over 9.8 million likes.

A less well known aspect of Takei’s life is that as a young child he and his family were forcibly taken from their home and interred from 1942 until the war was over.

This experience was traumatic for the actor. He tells it this way:

“We were taken from our home and loaded on to train cars with other Japanese-American families. There were guards stationed at both ends of each car, as if we were criminals. We were taken two thirds of the way across the country, rocking on that train for four days and three nights, to the swamps of Arkansas. I still remember the barbed wire fence that confined me. I remember the tall sentry tower with the machine guns pointed at us. . .” 1

Ultimately, Takei forgave his country for what it did.

“I’m aware of human fallibility, as my father said because, you know, if you don’t forgive, the only person that’s being punished is yourself. You can move forward.” 2

by Patrick Gaffney

by Patrick Gaffney


1 “George Takei:  Why I love a country that once betrayed me.” June 2014.  TedxKyoto.  Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/george_takei_why_i_love_a_country_that_once_betrayed_me.

2 “Is Forgiveness the Ultimate Test?” December 18,2016.  Ted Radio Hour.  Retrieved from:  http://www.npr.org/2015/12/18/458515323/is-forgiveness-the-ultimate-test.