"One Book, One Coast" Discussion: 'They Called Us Enemy'

With Lisa Heyamoto and Sharma Shields

Join us to discuss the “One Book, One Coast” inaugural selection, George Takei's graphic memoir 'They Called Us Enemy.' This event is in partnership with Asians for Collective Liberation Spokane.

Join Spokane Public Library, ACL Spokane, and special guest Lisa Heyamoto to discuss the graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy by George Takei and Eisinger Scott Becker, this year’s One Book, One Coast selection.

Stretching from California’s southern border to northmost tip of Washington state, One Book, One Coast (OBOC) is a brand-new, multi-state community reading initiative that brings readers together around a shared book, sparking conversation, programs and reflection across the West Coast.

Our inaugural selection is They Called Us Enemy, a graphic memoir by George Takei that recounts his childhood experience of incarceration alongside more than 120,000 people of Japanese descent, most of whom were U.S. citizens, following Executive Order 9066 in 1942.

Spokane Public Library is one of dozens of libraries across the coast taking part in the OBOC events. Thank you to Asians for Collective Liberation Spokane for partnering with us on the event. ACL Spokane is “building a world of collective liberation where 
Asians and Asian Americans can live in a community 
of wellbeing, safety, and belonging.”

About the presenters:

Lisa Heyamoto is dedicated to building a durable local news infrastructure through sustainable organizational growth, systems thinking and community engagement. She is Vice President of Portfolio Learning at the American Journalism Project, where she surfaces data insights across the grantee portfolio to create rich learning experiences that move news organizations forward. She was previously a senior leader at LION Publishers, a journalism educator at the University of Oregon and a reporter at The Sacramento Bee and The Seattle Times. She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she and her husband publish a community newspaper while raising two daughters, a dog and a cat. 

Sharma Shields is the Writing Education Specialist for Spokane Public Library and her novels have received the Washington State Book Award and a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award.

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For all event information inquiries, email telref@spokanelibrary.org or call 509-444-5300.

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