They Called Us Enemy | 
pickTakei details his family's internment powerfully. Seeing this history through a child's eyes, the reader feels the depth of fear and uncertainty. There were panels here depicting Takei's mother that made me weep; watching along as parents do all they can to protect their children in the face of absolute injustice only to be shown that it is never enough. But the force of love, care, and community endures, reverberating through generations.
Evening mood
Have added to my collection today, including the tagged.
pickI love George Takei for his acting, his activism, and his humor. They Called Us Enemy is a graphic memoir about Takei's childhood spent incarcerated in an interment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. It was a heartbreaking story, but also one of family perseverance. We are repeating our mistakes again. We put innocent people in camps because of racism, and now we're doing it again. When is enough enough? #RealHistory @Librarybelle
I'm reading this graphic nonfiction novel for my #RealHistory book for April by George Takei, who was in a U.S. internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II as a child.
@Librarybelle
The hibiscus just happens to be blooming, and it is a plant I managed not to kill yet, so I wanted to show it off. It has nothing to do with the book.
#coverlove
#weapon
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
This is the first time I completed a challenge in full!
pickA graphic novel about Takei‘s time in a Japanese internment camp during WWII. A very powerful and informative book. I‘m glad I read it.
Also, I wondered why I‘d never seen the episode of The Twilight Zone that Takei is in. I guess this is why—it was barred from syndication!
pickThis is a beautifully told story of a horrible time in American history—and more importantly, the trauma that George Takei and his family experience in the internment camps, and how George uses that experience in his adult life. The ending made me cry, as I miss my dad too. I did think the framing devices with George giving talks were awkward, especially since there were two and they weren‘t used in a symmetrical way.
pickReminiscent of Maus, this graphic novel tells about George Takei and his family‘s time in the Japanese American internment camps during WWII.
One of the largest human rights violations in American history, this forgotten chapter is finally coming to the light due to the efforts of Takei and other survivors of the camps.
pickWhat an incredible book. The art is SO expressive, and the story is just as emotionally rich. Felt like the perfect balance of Takei‘s personal/family history and the American history that needs to be told and retold. Love this quote from Takei in the back matter: “Around the world, the same prejudices and hysteria that we endured in the 1940s continue to threaten the freedom and livelihoods of people whose voices have been suppressed… ⬇️
pickThis packs quite the punch. Not everyone survived the camps intact. While eventually the government denounced them and gave some reparations, much damage had already been done. Splitting up families, deporting Japanese Americans. Some who were 3rd generation Americans! And radicalization of others. If you abuse people eventually some will decide to be the enemy after all. A good look at one of America's giant missteps in history.
pickPowerful…important…gut wrenching.
I wanted to read this after finishing Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - to compare true experiences in these internment camps with that of Keiko in her letters to Henry.
Takei‘s childhood experiences were protected in many ways by incredible parents who protected the children. Takei knew that what was happening was wrong, but the parents sheltered their children as best they could. Unfathomable💔
“Memory is a wily keeper of the past…usually dependable, but at times, deceptive.”
pick4/5⭐ The injustices in this book, both inherently and in the context of continued injustice of the same type today, are disheartening to read. The book doesn't shy away from the unconstitutional, racist actions of the government, but it also has a strong thread that takes hope in the democratic process as it should be.
Our democracy is a participatory democracy. Existentially, it's dependent on people who cherish the shinning, highest ideals of our democracy and actively engage in the political process.
That remains part of the problem—that we don't know the unpleasant aspects of American history, and therefore we don't learn the lesson those chapters have to teach us. So we repeat them over and over again.
Hitting the ground running on set two of #Booked2023 with a Wrongly Incarcerated Main Character. George Takei was incarcerated in a prison camp as a child for the 'crime' of being of Japanese heritage in America. A very worthwhile and readable graphic memoir of a hidden history.
@BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cinfhen @alisiakae
We‘re finishing our library‘s Community Read of Firekeeper‘s Daughter, and already planning for next year! Here‘s my some of the ones I‘m considering for my short list. (Plus coffee mug for pretty!)
pickThis one‘s been on the TBR for a long time. While most of the story covers George Takei‘s childhood imprisoned in Japanese Interment camps during WWII, he also covers his adult thoughts about his childhood experience, including conversations with his father. He gives personal context to various historical moments when the US has tried to reconcile with this dark smear on our democracy.
pickI‘m admittedly incapable of being anything like objective about stories related to the Internment, so to some degree it‘s never a surprise when such stories make me cry. Well, this one did, too. But I think that the way the story is structured to show us Takei‘s experience through his childhood perspective, balanced by his adult narration, makes for a particularly potent experience.
pickTakei has my deep admiration for a recollection furnished with the facts and briefly lightened by the perspective of a young child, for his touching tribute to all his parents struggled with, protected him from and imparted as wisdom, for his unfailing optimism in humanity and faith in democracy, while in no way hesitating to clearly state the wrongs done to Japanese Americans by the American government during World War 2. Highly recommended read.
Little George! Beautiful balance to the way these memories are recalled, you get moments of levity, bright spots in the dark thanks to the filter of childhood innocence.
Today's most evocative phrase: ..."dusty, peripheral remembrances."
Re: proclamations that led to the forced incarceration of Japanese-Americans in camps in America after attack on Pearl Harbor.
Just when you think the details of history can't get any shittier.
pickThey Called Us Enemy shares the story of a little boy named George Takei and his experiences while living in an internment camps.
This was my little October graphic novel/comic binge. They Called Us Enemy was moving & informative—reminded me of March. Mooncakes struck the right balance of delightfully cozy & October-y spooky. Chivalry was just fun (beautiful illuminated manuscript-style artwork). Two installments of Phoebe & Her Unicorn were a break from slogging through Smilla‘s Sense of Snow. Finally, Nightlights was light on story, but the artwork was absolutely gorgeous.
pickThis was a powerful graphic memoir from George Takei, detailing his experience in Japanese internment camps during his childhood. He goes into great detail about this period of history and the discrimination that Japanese Americans endured, much of which is glossed over in history lessons. He draws parallels to similar events in recent years and hopes that shining a light on the mistakes of our past can help avoid repeating them in the future.
pickWell written. Incredible artwork. Heartbreaking yet inspiring. Bought this for my oldest, but I probably was just as moved as he was, even though I had already read Takei's biography written in the 1990s. I encourage everyone read this memoir, and others, that deal with this infamous, shameful chapter of US history.
#Alphabetgame #LetterT
pickThis is a brilliant, beautifully drawn graphic memoir. It powerfully illustrates the human cost of an unjust racist government policy, and why it's important to remember the lessons of that today.
Bookclubs and graphic novels. This month we covered the Japanese internment in USA during WWIII. It is very interesting that many were not aware of this happening until into thier adulthood. #rplbooksandbrews #arrcreads #rogersreads
pickThis was really good. The illustrations were simple, but I thought done very nicely. As such a young boy, along with his parents doing their best to protect him and his younger siblings, he often thought they were on an adventure. Sad how things start to repeat themselves; people just don‘t learn.
#pridebookrec #graphicnovel week
George Takei is a ground breaking, funny human. But his childhood was not idyllic.
Being Japanese in The US during the 40-50 (and even now) was horrifying. This graphic novel tells of him and his family's experience in US concentration camps and the pain that still resonates from that time.
An important read.
pickSon gives this one a thumbs up! 👍🏾 I think I‘ll read it too. I didn‘t know Takei was an internment victim until recently, certainly not as a child during the heyday of Star Trek. I bet few knew it.
pickSuper delighted to read this graphic memoir again, this time for book group. The members of the group are not terribly familiar with graphic novels, but I hope they give it a chance. This story is worth reading and remembering. #bookspinbingo
#12booksof2021
Finished the year off with an amazing graphic memoir about Takei‘s experiences growing up in the Japanese internment camps of WW2. A shameful period of American history told through the lens of a child: heartbreaking, but with glimmers of hope and buoyancy
@Andrew65
A graphic novel (memoir) of George Takei‘s childhood in Japanese-American internment camps in WW2
#comicbookday #falltreasures @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
pickThis incredibly moving and informative graphic memoir memorializes and shares actor and activist George Takei's experience as a child imprisoned with other Japanese-Americans within American concentration camps during World War II. Beautifully structured and illustrated, with clear relevance to similar injustices in America today, this is a must-read for fans of graphic nonfiction, especially the March trilogy.
pickWhat an incredible and important true story. George Takei and his family‘s experience in the Japanese internment camps during World War II in America. His parents were so resilient and helpful to others. He has done so much since then to advocate for immigrants poorly mistreated in America despite being citizens or those seeking asylum. The art was really well done, I just wish it was in color too! Very compelling read.
pickThis is the story of George Takei (yes, from Star Trek!) and his family‘s forced and unlawful imprisonment in one of American Concentration Camps, overall which held 120,000 Japanese Americans and was enforced by the US government, during WWII. All due to mass hysteria and racism ➡️ for the rest of my review, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3069112956
pick“Justice grows out of a recognition of ourselves in each other...that my liberty depends on you being free, too...that history can‘t be a sword to justify injustice or a shield against progress...but must be a manual for how to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.”
pickNot the happiest of vacation reads, but this is a critical book of America history. Of a time we still do not talk enough about. It is a well laid out book, this expanded edition having many extras like photos of Takei's family copies of the orders that were sent around, maps, and a bit about how the graphic novel was compiled.
5⭐ this should be taught in American schools.
pickAn utterly insightful & engrossing graphic novel-memoir by actor, human rights activist & social justice advocate, George Takei. He recounts his childhood spent with his family imprisoned in ‘Japanese internment‘ camps during the WW2. An important read about part of American history, he even compared current events with his story at the end.
