George Takei stepped onto the University Auditorium stage Tuesday evening to thunderous applause.
“This is a really spectacular place — it deserves an ‘oh my,’” he said.
The activist and “Star Trek” actor was brought by the Accent Speaker’s Bureau, Pride Student Union and Asian American Student Union to share his message on democracy and the connection between minorities at 8 p.m.
“Throughout the year, we celebrate the diversity in America,” Takei said. “Because central to the vitality of this nation is the fact that we are diverse, and we celebrate the various histories, cultures, experiences that make up this great country. And as Americans, we are diverse. Infinite diversities, infinite combinations. And the Trekkies recognize that.”
Takei took the audience back to 1941: the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was 4 years old, and it was the beginning of his politically active career as a Japanese-American. His family was taken from their home and forced to live in a horse stall before being transferred to an Arkansas internment camp. His father was labeled an enemy non-alien, even though he enlisted to fight for America. Takei said he was too young to understand and feel the pain.
He then became active in campaigns such as the civil rights movement, where he marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr.
But Takei didn’t just feel different because of his face, he said. At 10 years old, he knew he was different when he had feelings for boys rather than girls.
As a budding actor, he said he stayed closeted and felt alone. He saw innocent gay men and lesbians get incarcerated due to ignorance, connecting it to his childhood as a Japanese-American. He has been an LGBT activist since 2005, when the bill for equal rights was banned in California.
But Takei said there is a reason to celebrate as federal courts recently struck down gay-marriage bans.
“More than 60 percent of the U.S. will now have marriage equality,” he said. “However, it’s not about percents. And when I pledge allegiance to the flag, I pledge allegiance to the United States of America. And I know that within, at most, two years, we will be celebrating, and we will be pledging allegiance to the United States of America — all 50 states, including Florida. It’s coming, Florida.”
Students in the audience had a positive response to the connection between Asian American history and the LGBT movement.
“It was wonderful to have the intersection,” said Damian Gonzalez, a 20-year-old UF journalism and political science junior and Pride Student Union internal vice president. “It’s a dialogue not promoted often and is usually separated.”
Takei’s final thoughts shared views on the vibrancy of America’s history and future, resulting in a standing ovation.
“Throughout history, it’s the changes that made this country more of a democracy,” he said. “Activists make changes.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/8/2014]
Actor and activist George Takei speaks at the University Auditorium on Tuesday night as part of the Accent Speaker’s Bureau series.
