Actor George Takei Fires Back At RI Lawmaker's Racial Tweet

PROVIDENCE, RI — A prominent actor, comedian and progressive activist spoke out in response to a Rhode Island lawmaker's controversial tweet. George Takei reframed state Rep. Patricia Morgan's criticism of critical race theory around his experience during World War II.

"I had a white friend. I liked him and I think he liked me, too. But then Pearl Harbor happened and whites became hostile and unpleasant," Takei tweeted. "I am sure we didn’t do anything but they sent us to camps anyway. And now they don’t want to teach about this because it make kids feel bad."

As a child, Takei and his family were sent to a Japanese internment camp in the U.S. According to Britannica, approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent were sent to 10 camps in several states from 1942 to 1945.

Takei's tweet was one of many negative responses to Morgan's tweet Tuesday, claiming that her "Black friend ... [is] now hostile and unpleasant" because she is white, and blaming critical race theory for sowing discord and divisiveness in society.

In response to Morgan's tweet, Speaker of the House K. Joseph Shekarchi issued a statement condemning the sentiment, but he declined to respond to Black Lives Matter Rhode Island's call to strip the lawmaker of her House committee assignments.

Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, meanwhile, said Morgan's tweet was "ignorant and embarrassing."

"The strength of our state is in our diversity," Gorbea said. "Rhode Island deserves leaders who bring people together, not recklessly divide us."

The tweet came after Morgan introduced a bill to banning teaching "divisive concepts," referred to by some as critical race theory, in Rhode Island schools. These include the idea that "the state of Rhode Island or the United States of America is fundamentally racist or sexist ... [or] an individual, by virtue of their race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously," among others. Read the full text of the bill here. The bill was held for further study by the House Education Committee in March.