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By
HILLEL ITALIE
NEW
YORK (AP) — Actor-activist George Takei's next project is on
behalf of a longtime passion — the right to read.
The American Library Association announced Monday that the
88-year-old Takei will serve as honorary chair of Banned Books
Week, which takes place Oct. 5-11. Libraries and bookstores
around the country will highlights books that have been
censored, from Maia Kobabe's “Gender Queer” to Toni Morrison's
“The Bluest Eye.”
“I remember all too well the lack of access to books and media
that I needed growing up. First as a child in a barbed-wire
prison camp, then as a gay young man in the closet, I felt
confused and hungry for understanding about myself and the world
around me,” said the “Star Trek” actor, who spent part of his
childhood in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.
"Please stand with me in opposing censorship, so that we all can
find ourselves — and each other — in books.”
Previous honorary chairs for Banned Books Week, established in
1982, include Ava DuVernay, LeVar Burton and Jason Reynolds.
Takei will share leadership with honorary youth chair Iris
Mogul, a first-year student at the University of California,
Santa Cruz who has been active for years in anti-banning
campaigns.
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