CHICAGO – Pioneering actor, author, and activist George Takei served as honorary chair of Banned Books Week (Oct. 5 to 11).

“Books are an essential foundation of democracy,” said Takei. “Our ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’ depends on a public that is informed and empathetic, and books teach us both information and empathy. Yet the right to read is now under attack from school boards and politicians across America.

“I’m proud to serve as honorary chair of Banned Books Week, because I remember all too well the lack of access to books and media that I needed growing up. First as a child in a barbed-wire prison camp, then as a gay young man in the closet, I felt confused and hungry for understanding about myself and the world around me.

“Now, as an author, I share

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