ALLEGIANCE's George Takei Responds To Roanoke Mayor's Claim That Interned Japanese-Americans Were A Threat

The issue of whether or not to allow Syrian refugees to seek asylum in America is a controversial one. On Monday, Virginia's governor Terry McAuliffe indicated that his state would not be among those seeking to block Syrian refugees as a security precaution following Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris.

Among those opposed to the governor's decision is Roanoke, VA. Mayor David A. Bowers, who issued a statement requesting "all Roanoke Valley governments and non-governmental agencies suspend and delay any further Syrian refugee assistance" until the recent hostilities seem at an end or under control.

His statement reads, in part, "I'm reminded that Franklin D. Roosevelt felt compelled to sequester Japanese foreign nationals after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and it appears that the threat of harm to America from Isis now is just as real and serious as that from our enemies then."

That paragraph in particular has caught the attention of actor/social activist George Takei, currently starring on Broadway in the new musical Allegiance, which was inspired by his childhood experience of being imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp by the United States government during World War II.

The mayor's full letter is posted below, followed by Takei's response.

Earlier today, the mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, Mr. David A. Bowers, in the attached letter, joined several state governors in ordering that Syrian refugees not receive any government assistance, or be relocated to their jurisdiction. Apart from the lack of legal authority to do so (under the Refugee Act of 1980, only the President has authority to accept or deny refugees), his resort to fear-based tactics, and his galling lack of compassion for people fleeing these same terrorists, Mayor Bowers made the following startling statement:

"I'm reminded that Franklin D. Roosevelt felt compelled to sequester Japanese foreign nationals after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and it appears that the threat of harm to America from Isis now is just as real and serious as that from our enemies then."

Mayor Bowers, there are a few key points of history you seem to have missed:

1) The internment (not a "sequester") was not of Japanese "foreign nationals," but of Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens. I was one of them, and my family and I spent 4 years in prison camps because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. It is my life's mission to never let such a thing happen again in America.

2) There never was any proven incident of espionage or sabotage from the suspected "enemies" then, just as there has been no act of terrorism from any of the 1,854 Syrian refugees the U.S. already has accepted. We were judged based on who we looked like, and that is about as un-American as it gets.

3) If you are attempting to compare the actual threat of harm from the 120,000 of us who were interned then to the Syrian situation now, the simple answer is this: There was no threat. We loved America. We were decent, honest, hard-working folks. Tens of thousands of lives were ruined, over nothing.

Mayor Bowers, one of the reasons I am telling our story on Broadway eight times a week in Allegiance is because of people like you. You who hold a position of authority and power, but you demonstrably have failed to learn the most basic of American civics or history lessons. So Mayor Bowers, I am officially inviting you to come see our show, as my personal guest. Perhaps you, too, will come away with more compassion and understanding.

-- George Takei

The new American musical Allegiance at the Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street, stars Tony and Olivier Award winner Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon, Les Miserables) in her long-awaited return to Broadway, "Star Trek" icon George Takei in his Broadway debut at age 78, and Broadway and "Glee" star Telly Leung. Allegiance is the vibrant and unforgettable story of one family's resilience in the face of seemingly-insurmountable odds, inspired by Takei's real-life experience as a Japanese American during World War II.

Allegiance illuminates one of American history's lesser known chapters as it tells the story of Sam Kimura (Takei), transported back nearly six decades to when his younger self (Leung) and his sister Kei (Salonga) fought to stay connected to their heritage, their family, and themselves after Japanese Americans were wrongfully imprisoned during World War II. An epic story told with great intimacy,Allegiance explores the ties that bind us, the struggle to persevere, and the overwhelming power of forgiveness and, most especially, love.

Photo Credit: Timmy Blupe