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Star Trek's Mr. Sulu to embark on a nationwide speaking tour

Star Trek's Mr. Sulu to embark on a nationwide speaking tour
'Equality Trek' to include six cities, not Seattle The Human Rights Campaign announced that George Takei, "Star Trek"'s Mr. Sulu, will embark on a nationwide speaking tour through six cities, speaking about his life as a Gay Japanese American and encouraging others to share their stories. Takei will also serve as a spokesman for HRC's Coming Out Project throughout the tour and beyond. Takei made international headlines last fall when he announced to the press that he and his partner Brad Altman have been together for nearly 20 years. "For 40 years, George Takei has beamed into living rooms through the television sets of generations of Americans. His unique role in pop culture history will help him reach new audiences with messages of understanding," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "We are tremendously excited to officially and publicly welcome George and his partner Brad into the Human Rights Campaign family." As a child, Takei and his family were held in American internment camps during World War II because of their Japanese ancestry - even though Takei and his mother were born on American soil and his father came to the United States as a child. Takei will speak on the tour about the ways that his life has been touched by both discrimination and by the healing that takes place when prejudice is replaced with understanding and open communication. "In my own life, I have felt the discrimination that used to separate Japanese Americans from the rest of the country melt away," said Takei. "I believe that by sharing our stories GLBT Americans can break down the walls that separate us and help build a more understanding and truly diverse nation for us all." Takei has been increasingly in the public eye speaking on GLBT issues since coming out in the press, and will appear on NBC's "Will & Grace" this Thursday, March 30. The national speaking tour is set to kick off on April 10. The dates and locations of the tour are: o April 10 - University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia o April 11 - Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore o April 17 - University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minn. o April 18 - University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. Two additional dates in Phoenix and Denver will be announced shortly. The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and transgender political organization with members throughout the country. An HRC press release