New Teaching Resources for They Called Us Enemy and Author Event with George Takei

As we welcome a new year and dive into the semester ahead, we hope that your plans include participating in our 2023-2024 All Community Read! 

Our book selection this year is George Takei’s poignant graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy. In this firsthand account of his childhood years incarcerated behind barbed wire in a WWII Japanese American internment camp, Takei invites readers to consider what it means to be American and a civic participant amid events that deny your autonomy, rights, and sense of belonging.

Whether you and your class are already reading, or if you’re in the planning stages, check out our helpful resources below to support you as you join us in learning about one of the most consequential moments in US history. 

Webinar: Teaching George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy and Japanese American Incarceration
Our one-hour on-demand webinar introduction to They Called Us Enemy provides strategies for teaching historical context, perspective-taking, ethical reflection, and the cultivation of empathy. 

Lesson: Words Matter: Listening to Survivors about Language for Describing Japanese American Incarceration
Introduce students to the importance of language choice in understanding the context surrounding historical events like Japanese American incarceration during WWII. Through survivor accounts, students will learn about the evolution of terms to represent the lived experiences of survivors and their descendants.

Lesson: Monuments to Japanese American Incarceration
Monuments and memorials can be an entry point for students to discover underrepresented stories and historical events. Explore the design, emotional impact, and purpose of different monuments to Japanese American incarceration.

Guide: They Called Us Enemy All-Community Read Guide
A supplement to our Whole-School Read Guide: Foster a Literacy Community, our guide to They Called Us Enemy provides activities and discussion questions designed to spark critical thinking and conversations around issues of identity, belonging, democracy, freedom, and justice as you read and discuss Takei’s lived experience.

If you haven’t registered already, be sure to secure your spot at our author event with George Takei on February 13, 2024. This event will be broadcast live via YouTube and will feature a special Q&A with questions from Facing History students.