“Is This Patriot Enough?” A Conversation on Asian Identity and Anti-AAPI Hate with George Takei & Lee Wong

Society & Culture

Pioneering actor and social justice activist George Takei has a conversation on Asian identity and anti-AAPI hate with Army veteran and elected official Lee Wong.

Asian-Americans have long been lumped as the eternal foreigner, as never being “American” enough. These notions have come to the fore in the recent waves of anti-AAPI hate. In March, U.S. Army veteran and elected official Lee Wong threw this into dramatic relief when he removed his shirt at a routine town hall meeting in Ohio, revealing the scars he still bears from his time in the Army. Lee’s question — “Is this patriot enough?” — reverberated across national news.

Pioneering actor and social justice activist George Takei, and Army veteran and elected official Lee Wong engage in a conversation on Asian identity and anti-AAPI hate. The two speakers share their personal stories as Asian-Americans — from George growing up with his family in Japanese-American internment camps during World War II, to Lee’s service in the U.S. Army. We also examine what it will take for Asian-Americans to finally be considered “American” and “patriotic” enough; the relationship between U.S. foreign policy and recent backlash against the AAPI community; Asian-American contributions to American society; and how we can work together to create lasting social change going forward.

This event is co-sponsored by the Serica Initiative, The China Project, and the Midwest USA Chinese Chamber of Commerce.