They Called Us Enemy

2019, Top Shelf Productions

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George Takei

Takei's acting career spans more than six decades - most people recognize him for his role in Roddenberry's Star Trek series. He is also an advocate for social justice and human rights, and is the chairman emeritus and trustee of the LA Japanese American National Museum.

Harmony Becker

Becker, a cartoonist and illustrator, is the creator of the comics Himawari Share, Love Potion, and Anemone and Catharus.  Himawari House, Becker's first solo graphic novel is set to be published at the end of 2021.

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Book Synopsis

They Called Us Enemy is George Takei's firsthand account of the years his family spent in Japanese internment camps during World War II. In 1942 every adult of Japanese descent on the West Coast was declared an "alien enemy," removed from their homes and property, and forced to live for years in camps under armed guard.

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Young adult graphic novel, 208 pages. George Takei autobiography.

Learning Options

Family Read Aloud Time
It can be difficult to use graphic novels as a family read aloud, but well worth the effort!  Find a way to share this novel with your teens and tweens. Seeing another person's experience is essential to the development of empathy.

Classroom Resource
Takei's autobiography is an excellent secondary resource for studying World War II. The Japanese American National Museum offers an amazingly robust Teacher's Guide to accompany the book.

Learning at Home
There are many excellent digital resources about the unlawful interment of Americans; you might begin with the Library of Congress's Japanese American Internment: Fear Itself.

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