Neil deGrasse Tyson interviews Nichelle Nichols on Star Talk Radio
Nichelle Nichols met Martin Luther King Jr. at the exact right time.
Nichelle recounts for Neil how she told Gene Roddenberry she was going to quit the show to go to Broadway, only to have Dr. King, who called himself her biggest fan, convince her to remain on the show because of the importance of her role to the black community, his family, and to Dr. King himself.
It’s a wonderful story. I welled up a few times.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. actually did care about Star Trek.
He had a conversation with Nichelle Nichols about her intention to quit the show to do stage work because her role on the show wasn’t very big. He told her that she had to stay on the show because her role had immense importance.
She was an officer on the bridge of a starship who just happened to be a black woman. He knew that her mere presence as a trusted and vital part of the operation would be a tremendous inspiration to black people and everyone who cared about equality in those tumultuous times, especially because no one made any reference to her race. And sure enough, Nichelle met and got mail from countless people telling her that she gave them hope for the future, even when present life got them down.
So we have him to thank for our ability to see 79 episodes with Nichelle’s legs in them.
