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

Civil Rights Involvement

At that time also I was involved in the Civil Rights Movement. I marched with Dr. Martin Luther King. I was doing a civil rights musical called “Fly Black Bird” which ran for 11 months here in Los Angeles. And we sang at many of the rallies. And that's where we met Dr. King. He asked us to meet him backstage afterwards. And what a thrill to shake his hand. To meet people like Dr. Martin Luther King and Eleanor Roosevelt for a young teenager was an incredible thrill.

From that, I got involved in other social justice campaigns. I was involved in the peace movement. I was an actor then, and in the entertainment industry, we had an organization called the Entertainment Industry for Peace and Justice. Worked together with people like Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland. I organized Peace Sunday at the Biltmore Bowl. We wanted an event for the Asian American community because the Asian American community is rather reticent about going out to rallies and marches and things like that. So we wanted to have something that was compatible with the Asian American community, so we got the Biltmore bowl.

activism communities equality justice law social action social justice

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