Sci-fi icon George Takei to discuss social issues as part of Evergreen lecture series

Sci-fi icon George Takei will speak next month as part of The Evergreen State College’s Cal Anderson Memorial Lecture Series.

Best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu on TV’s “Star Trek,” which aired from 1966 to 1969 and inspired generations of sequels, prequels, movies and spinoffs, the actor and activist will have a wide-ranging conversation with Greg Mullins, dean of the college library, on a Zoom webinar.

The free event — a COVID-19 alternative to the in-person lecture Takei would otherwise have given — also will include a Q&A for which audience members can submit questions.

The Anderson lecture series is focused on serious discussion of public policy and ideas, and immigration will be among the topics of conversation. As a child, Takei was among 120,000 Japanese-Americans imprisoned in internment camps during World War II, an experience he revisited in the 2018 graphic novel “They Called Us Enemy” and the musical “Allegiance,” which debuted on Broadway in 2015.

“I was categorized as an enemy alien at 5 years old,” he said in the Jan. 30 episode of his podcast, Oh Myyy Pod, “but I wasn’t an enemy. I was a 5-year-old kid. And I wasn’t an alien. I was born in Los Angeles, California.

“This country was swept up with racism and war hysteria, and it was very easy for them to round us up with no due process,” he said. “The soldiers came stomping up our front porch armed with bayoneted rifles, and they ordered us out of our home and put us in barbed-wire prison camps.”

Mullins said that historical event is relevant now.

“That is an issue that is very important to him and very timely,” Mullins told The Olympian. “I anticipate that’s something he will be interested in talking about at some length.”

Takei, who came out in 2005, also has been active in working for LGBTQ rights, and his social-media presence has a focus on civil rights and social justice issues as well as liberal politics.

Recent episodes of his podcast have focused on immigration policies of the Trump administration, the roots of conspiracy theories and the increasing visibility of far-right hate groups.

“We don’t know what might change between now and the 10th of November,” Mullins said. “No one knows what’s going to happen with the election. The conversation might change based on whatever is happening at the time.”

Questions relating to Takei’s time on “Star Trek” are not off limits, though, and laughs are to be expected: Takei’s wit has helped him attract millions of followers on social media.

Mullins himself is among Takei’s legions of fans.

“As a young person, I watched every single ‘Star Trek’ episode multiple times,” he said. “There’s that level of admiration I have for his acting and for the core message of that series, which was groundbreaking, bringing together a multiracial cast and showing a future of people coming together and uniting. That’s an important legacy, but since that time, he’s done a tremendous amount of work and not only on film and stage.

“He was very active in the fight for marriage equality,” Mullins added. “I am a gay man, and I’m now married, and it’s because of people like George Takei.”

An Evening with George Takei

• What: The activist, actor and social media influencer will join Greg Mullins of The Evergreen State College for an online conversation about the nation’s past, present and future as part of the college’s Cal Anderson Memorial Lecture Series. There’ll be a Q&A, too.
• When: 5:30 p.m. Nov. 10
• Tickets: Free, with advance registration required

This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 5:45 AM.