They Called Us Enemy is such an impactful story regarding the Japanese internment camps during WW2. Written in George’s point of view when he was younger boy with his siblings, and family creates a setting that’s so raw and real to me. The internment camps were built on the idea that the Japanese were not “trustworthy”, and as a whole, the country put together the decision against the Japanese Americans. While reading, this makes me think a lot about how racism is conspired by just a group, and this is what sets the tone for the rest of the story. For other Japanese Americans, they were put straight into the military, as for George’s family, they were luckier and got put into an internment camp. However, seeing George’s experience as a young boy going through this is heartbreaking.

“That remains part of the problem—that we don’t know the unpleasant aspects of American history…and therefore we don’t learn the lesson those chapters have to teach us. So we repeat them over and over again.” George Takei

However George Takei’s story is only one of the many tragic ones that occurred during that time. I believe that his story was incredibly impactful in reminding people that racism can go as far as that, and what type of aftermath it can leave behind.