A Brief Summary Of They Called Us Enemy By George Takei

Primary Source 1

Author: George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven Scott
Title: They Called Us Enemy
Full citation: Takei, George, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, and Harmony Becker. They Called Us Enemy. San Diego, CA: Top Shelf Productions, 2020.

Author's identity: George Takei is a Japanese American actor, activist, and author, known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the television series Star Trek. He extensively discusses and condemns the direct impact of Japanese-Internment camps as he himself was 6 six years old when his family was detained and later moved to

Date and place of document: Published in 2019 by IDW Publishing.

Intended audience: The graphic novel is intended for a broad audience, particularly those interested in George Takei's

In their confinement, they clamored to enjoy what freedom and levity could be made.
Evidence 1: "Once the weather warmed up, it was an out-of-doors life, where you only went “home” at night, when you finally had to: 10,000 people on an endless promenade inside the square mile of barbed wire that was the wall around our city?"

Claim 2: The internment had a lasting impact on the lives of Japanese Americans, with many to this day questioning if the country truly accepts and acknowledges them as their own despite numerous sacrifices..
Evidence 2: When reflecting upon the internment camp upon visiting it years later, the author says “I had nearly outgrown the shame and the guilt and the sense of unworthiness.This visit, this pilgrimage, made comprehensible, finally, the traces that remained and would always remain, like a needle.

Claim 3: Japanese Americans faced discrimination and prejudice even after the war, informing us of the enduring history of racial bigotry in American culture at large, in this instance specifically regarding the American Caucasian

Evidence 2: "We were close to freedom and yet far from it. The San Bruno streetcar line bordered the camp on the east and the main state highway on the south. Streams of cars passed by all day. Guard towers and barbed wire surrounded the entire center. Guards were on duty night and day."
Claim 3: Life in the internment camps was marked by harsh conditions and the denial of basic necessities.
Evidence 3: "Toilets were situated at the end of each barracks. They were crude, unsanitary, and lacked privacy. Flies swarmed everywhere." (Okubo 77)
Questions the document raises in your mind, for which you need additional evidence:
Q1: How did the interned Japanese-Americans maintain their sense of identity and community within the camps? Q2: What were the long-term effects of the internment experience on the lives and well-being of Japanese-Americans? Q3: How did the internment experience impact the broader perception of Japanese-Americans in American society and the fight for civil