海角社区

George Takei, activist, author, and actor of Star Trek fame will be the featured guest of honor at the 鈥淟ong Beach Reads One Book鈥� event at 7 p.m., Thurs., March 19 at 海角社区鈥檚 (LBCC) Hall of Champions Gymnasium. Takei will be discussing his New York Times bestselling graphic novel 鈥淭hey Called Us Enemy,鈥� and will take questions from the audience.

Long Beach Reads One Book, a popular community-focused cultural program revitalized this year by the 海角社区 Foundation and 海角社区after a six-year hiatus, is designed to bring people together, foster community, and to raise the enjoyment of literacy by encouraging everyone in Long Beach to read the same book at the same time.

鈥淭hey Called Us Enemy,鈥� is a graphic memoir recounting Takei鈥檚 childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II and his firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys of childhood and the terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother鈥檚 hard choices, his father鈥檚 faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future, which included playing popular character 鈥淪ulu鈥� on the original Star Trek television series.

Tickets for the March 19 event are $10 suggested donation for community members and free for students with a student ID. RSVPs are being accepted at . Each community ticket will include a raffle opportunity to win an autographed copy of 鈥淭hey Called Us Enemy,鈥� signed by Takei.

Early arrival is encouraged at the Liberal Arts Campus, located at 4901 E. Carson St., Long Beach, CA, 90808. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Parking is free in Parking Lot M at Veteran鈥檚 Memorial Stadium.

Takei鈥檚 book is available for purchase at in Long Beach, major retail and online bookstores, and at both 海角社区Viking Bookstores at the Liberal Arts Campus and Pacific Coast Campus. LBCC students can also borrow the book from the 海角社区Libraries at both campuses where a limited number of books are also available.