May 2026 Banned Book Club – They Called Us Enemy

Join us each month for thought-provoking discussions in the Banned Book Club, where we will explore the powerful stories and ideas that have been silenced by book bans across America. Every month, we’ll dive into either a book currently banned or one that examines the culture of censorship and its impact on society. Together, we’ll challenge the limits of free expression, reflect on the importance of diverse voices, and discuss why certain books are under attack. Whether you’re reading for pleasure or actively seeking ideas outside your comfort zone, each meeting offers a space for open dialogue, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of the books that shape our world. Come ready to read, reflect, and resist!

Our May book is They Called Us Enemy by George Takei. Stop in or order your copy from Cavalier House Books today!

About the book:

A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei’s childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon — and America itself — in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.

George Takei has captured hearts and minds worldwide with his captivating stage presence and outspoken commitment to equal rights. But long before he braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father’s — and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future.

In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten “relocation centers,” hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard.

They Called Us Enemy is Takei’s firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother’s hard choices, his father’s faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future.

What does it mean to be American? Who gets to decide? When the world is against you, what can one person do? To answer these questions, George Takei joins co-writers Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott and artist Harmony Becker for the journey of a lifetime.

Check out the Wikipedia article on They Called Us Enemy, as well as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s discussion of banned graphic novels (including TCUE).