George Takei to Discuss His New Book at JANM April 21

LOS ANGELES, CA – Actor and activist George Takei will discuss and sign his new children’s
book My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story at the Japanese American
National Museum (JANM) on April 21, 2024 from 2 p.m.–3:30 p.m. The iconic Star Trek actor, a
dedicated charter member, trustee and chair emeritus of the JANM Board of Trustees, will be
joined by the book’s illustrator Michelle Lee, for a reading, conversation, and book signing.
Tickets are $16 ($9 for seniors and students, free for JANM Members) and are available at
janm.org/events. Tickets include admission to JANM on April 21.

“Congratulations to George on this wonderful accomplishment. He not only reflects upon his
own memories of the camps—the Santa Anita temporary detention center, Rohwer
concentration camp, and Tule Lake Segregation Center—but also helps children of today
understand what it feels like to be treated as an enemy and outsider in your own country. His
family’s courage and his own resilience as a young boy shaped the man he is today as well as
his commitment to the importance of staying true to oneself in the face of grave injustice,” said
Ann Burroughs, President and CEO of JANM.

My Lost Freedom is a moving, beautifully illustrated true story for children ages six to nine about
growing up in Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II—from the Star Trek
actor, activist, and author of the New York Times bestselling graphic memoir They Called Us
Enemy. Published by Crown Books for Young Readers, the book is available at the JANM Store
for $19.99.

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About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, JANM promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a center for civil rights, ensuring that the hard-fought lessons of the World War II incarceration are not forgotten. A Smithsonian Affiliate and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories. JANM is a center for the arts as well as history. It provides a voice for Japanese Americans and a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public in 1992, JANM has presented over 100 exhibitions onsite while traveling 40 exhibits to venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and to several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. JANM is open on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday–Sunday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and on Thursday from 12 p.m.–8 p.m. JANM is free every third Thursday of the month. On all other Thursdays, JANM is free from 5 p.m.–8 p.m. For more information, visit janm.org or follow us on social media @jamuseum.

About Crown Book for Young Readers | Random House Children’s Books

Crown Books for Young Readers is an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, the
world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher, a division of Penguin Random
House LLC.

Random House Children’s Books (rhcbooks.com) is the world’s largest English-language
children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all
formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, and nonfiction, the imprints
of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators,
world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House Children’s
Books is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.