TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE
Like many people, I grew up on Star Trek. Beyond its pure entertainment value, the many incarnations of Star Trek have shared the common theme of exploring social issues through metaphor. As science fiction is the perfect medium for this, it's perhaps not surprising that many many sci-fi movies and TV shows also work in this area, though today's shows perhaps no longer have to work as hard.
Gene Roddenberry (the creator and developer of Star Trek) had his work cut out for him when it came to presenting a future of equality on the original Star Trek. The pilot episode had a woman second in command, which the network insisted on changing; the first interracial kiss later on in the show was also almost cut by the network. While it's easy to villify the network for these decisions, the reality is the original series was taking place in an era when people were attacking families in cars because the family wanted to send their kids to a good school. Roddenberry's universe was truly radical, and not because of space travel. We may have all heard the story, but we don't often think of the real impact it had.
HAILING FREQUENCIES OPEN, SIR
Nichelle Nichols played the spunky, but not often utilized character of Uhura, a black officer on the starship Enterprise. No fuss was ever made about this on the show - she was simply one of the diverse crew. Because of this, we assumed that in the future having a black woman in power was just normal. In fact, Uhura was fourth in the chain of command on the starship, although the network probably didn't realize this.
It should have been a dream job for any woman (black or white) on television in those days, but it wasn't. Nichols mostly sat in the background repeating the famous line, "Hailing frequencies open, sir.". It wasn't a thrilling job for an actor despite the set up. She also was missing musical theater. Nichols was considering leaving the show.
MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE TREKKIES
Right before officially leaving, she was informed that a fan wanted to meet her. Turning around, she came face to face with a man she deeply respected. As it turns out, even Dr. Martin Luther King is a Trekkie. He and his family enjoyed watching a show where a black person was portrayed not as "the negro" but as a person. There are many interviews of Nichelle Nichols relating the story of her famous meeting and what he said to her. In my favorite retelling, King tells her that she and Roddenberry have opened a door for the world to see. If she were to leave, that door would close. As we all know, Uhura decided to stay.
What would have happened if she had left? Maybe nothing. Maybe another black woman would have replaced her and things would have gone on. However, it's also likely that the network would not have allowed Roddenberry to put another controversial character on the bridge. And so the door would have closed. Star Trek's dance with equality would have been crippled, perhaps forever - at least for a very long time.
But, instead, Dr. King affirmed the true nature of the face of science fiction, in fact ALL television, forever. The Enterprise bridge with a white man, an alien, a Russian, a Japanese man, and a Swahili speaking woman would change the way an entire generation of children viewed their fellow human beings. So, while it may not seem as important as segregation or marching on Washinton, in the end, a television show has had the most impact on my life.
Thanks, MLK.
Nichelle Nichols discusses the impact her character had on racial views:
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