Many will be observing the Day of Remembrance next Monday. President Biden set the day aside in 2022 to remember the over 125,000 Japanese Americans incarcerated in camps between 1942 and 1945.
On Oʻahu, Honpa Hongwanji will commemorate the occasion with two lectures by actor, author and social justice advocate George Takei. He's best known as Sulu from the original "Star Trek" series.
Takei was 5 years old when he and his family were moved at gunpoint from their Los Angeles home to a prison camp in Arkansas.
He's the inspiration behind "Allegiance," a musical production about Japanese American families living in the camps. Takei continues to travel and teach audiences about that period of history.
"I am committed to doing what I can to prevent wars from happening, because of my childhood experience being incarcerated in American prison camps, because of the irrational reaction that the United States government and President Roosevelt had to the bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaiʻi," Takei said.
He said part of his mission is to enlighten those who don't know a lot about the incarceration of Japanese Americans — especially younger people whose grandparents and parents were in the camps.
"It's an important part of American history that has particular ramifications for what's going on today. So I emphasize the importance of this story being an American story," Takei added.
Takei will be giving two lectures in Nu’uanu on Sunday, Feb. 18. The free morning service will be at Honpa Hongwanji and on Zoom. The paid evening event will be at the adjacent Pacific Buddhist Academy.
Correction: During the live broadcast of this story, we incorrectly said both events are free. The evening talk is not free.
This story aired on The Conversation on Feb. 14, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
