“When I was going to gay bars in my 20s and 30s, the older guys there explained to me that the police would occasionally raid these places and march the clients out, load them onto paddy wagons, drive them down to the station, photograph them, fingerprint them and put their names on a list. They were doing nothing wrong, and it was criminalized.”

American actor, author, and activist

George Takei is an American actor, author, and activist. He is best known for playing Hikaru Sulu, the helmsman of the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek franchise. His work on Star Trek made him widely recognizable, and he has also built a public profile as an author and activist. Across those roles, he is associated with a career that links popular culture and civic engagement.